Minerals-Based Industrial Policies in a Fragmenting World: Lessons from Indonesia and Australia

This brief by Madeline Craig-Scheckman, Fellow in Financing the Energy Transition, poses key questions for a new series on critical mineral industrial policy, exploring production dynamics, policy implementation, and global positioning of two top-producing countries, Indonesia and Australia.

From the brief:

Australia and Indonesia are both key players in global mineral production, which are increasingly implementing mineral-based industrial policies. Indonesia’s raw nickel export bans and downstreaming push are actively reshuffling supply chains and have forced both domestic and global companies to re-evaluate sourcing strategies and trade routes. While Australia hasn’t implemented export bans, recent policy shifts signal a clear intent to support midstream and downstream capabilities, which will impact global trade around minerals, especially lithium. As demand for critical minerals accelerates in the context of the energy transition and great power competition, the choices these countries make will influence not only their domestic development trajectories but also global supply security, trade relationships, and the balance of value capture across the supply chain.