Results of the “US-Japan Critical Mineral/e-Waste Initiative: ICT Business Roundtable on Electronics Recycling Operational Cooperation in Vietnam”

1．On May 21, 2026, the Ministry of the Environment of Japan co-hosted the Business Roundtable in Hanoi with the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam, and the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP), Regional Assistance and Security Programs (RASP) to promote the formulation of cooperation projects for critical mineral recovery through e-waste recycling.  

2． This roundtable is based on the progress of the “U.S.-Japan Critical Minerals ASEAN Supply Chain Seminar: e-Waste Recycling” held at the USA Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka in October 2025. It aimed to identify challenges in Vietnam and facilitate the formulation of investment-ready projects to recover critical minerals from collected, dismantled, and sorted e-waste and reintegrate them into supply chains as secondary resources. The roundtable also builds on the outcomes of the visit of Ms. TAKAICHI Sanae, Prime Minister of Japan to Hanoi in May 2026 and is expected to contribute to strengthening critical mineral supply chains, which is a key priority in economic security, through enhanced collaboration among the U.S., Vietnam, and Japan.

3．This roundtable brought together approximately 150 participants, both in person and online, including government representatives, manufacturers, smelters, recyclers, retailers, trading companies, local NGOs, international organizations, and other stakeholders from Japan, the U.S., and Vietnam.

4．During the roundtable, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam shared the latest developments in Vietnam’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy framework for e-waste. The private sector shared relevant experiences and case studies in other countries and discussed challenges and opportunities related to project formulation and implementation. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) presented approaches for international cooperation to improve Vietnam’s EPR system and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) provided an overview of its project formulation support subsidy. Participants also discussed possible measures to enhance e-waste recycling and accelerate market growth.

5．Through these discussions, participants recognized the importance of utilizing e-waste as a source of critical minerals to build resilient and transparent circular supply chains as well as the need to strengthen collection and recycling systems through public-private collaboration. They also shared the view that governments and interested companies should work together to advance the development of concrete business initiatives.