Japan, the United States, and South Korea held their first joint meeting of ministers of economy, trade, and industry on June 26 in Washington, D.C. They shared concerns about "economic pressure" through export and import restrictions and subsidies that cause market distortions, with China in mind. The three countries agreed to cooperate to strengthen supply chains for critical minerals and semiconductors. The meeting was attended by Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Saito Ken, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Ahn Duk-geun. After the meeting, Minister Saito stressed the significance of trilateral cooperation at a press conference, saying, "Strengthening supply chains requires cooperation among like-minded countries." A joint statement issued after the meeting explicitly stated their "shared concerns about the weaponization of economic dependence on specific sources of strategic materials," with China in mind. They outlined a policy to avoid dependence on specific countries by prioritizing environmental measures as well as price when procuring important resources. In particular, they condemned China for its "concerns about recent non-market actions" regarding critical minerals such as gallium and germanium, which are semiconductor materials, that China restricts exports. They emphasized that they will "take appropriate measures as needed" to strengthen supply chains. Regarding semiconductor supply chain resilience, they stated that they will "accelerate cooperation." Beyond economic pressure, China's massive government subsidies are fueling overproduction, which is also a concern. There are concerns that low-priced electric vehicles (EVs) and solar power-related products are being dumped into overseas markets, hindering fair competition.