Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sat across from Donald Trump in an improvised White House meeting last week, discussing the heavy earth beneath the Brazilian soil. The two leaders are navigating a new alliance centered on the 21 million tonnes of rare-earth reserves held by Brazil, a treasure second only to China’s. According to Mining.com, Oklahoma-based USA Rare Earth has finalized a $2.8 billion acquisition of the Serra Verde Group, which operates the only producing rare-earth mine in Brazil. The deal includes a 15-year contract to supply 100% of the initial production from the Pela Ema mine in Goiás state to a company funded by the U.S. government. However, the transaction faces a regulatory hurdle. Brazil’s antitrust watchdog, Cade, has opened an investigation to assess whether the sale and the supply agreement constitute a concentration of power that should have been submitted for prior approval, per Folha de S.Paulo. Lula told Trump that while Brazil’s minerals are open for investment, the processing must happen domestically to benefit the local economy. This is a struggle for stewardship over the land. The American family table depends on these minerals for the technology of the modern age, but we must not secure our own independence by stripping it from our neighbors. A true partnership is rooted in mutual respect for the land and the labor required to tend it. If we are to break the Chinese monopoly on these strategic minerals, we must do so as partners, not as imperialists.