TORONTO, April 23 (Reuters) - Canada and its Five Eyes

Alliance partners are working on put forward a response to

tackle the price manipulation of critical metals, Canada's

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Tuesday.

The U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand

have what is called the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network

and the finance ministers from these countries met last Thursday

for the spring session of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

in Washington.

Freeland said that she and her counterparts from the Five

Eyes Alliance discussed last week on how these countries could

"friendshore" their critical minerals supply chain to fight the

dumping of critical minerals in the international market by

large producing countries, such as China and Indonesia.

The World Economic Forum describes 'friendshoring' as a

trade practice where supply chain networks are focussed on

countries that are regarded as political and economic allies.

Freeland said Canada and its allies believe that nickel and

other rare earth minerals are intentionally flooded in the

market with the purpose of driving Canadian and companies from

allied countries out of business.

"Canada is actively working what we can do to discuss

collective responses," she said, adding that economic security

needs to be part of national security. Freeland was addressing

the media at the annual First Nations Major Projects Coalition

conference in Toronto.

Canada has listed 31 metals as critical minerals, which are

necessary towards future energy and technology transition.

Dumping is an anti-competitive trade practice in which a

country exports certain products at a price lower than what is

sold in its home country.

In March this year, Canada's Natural Resource Minister

Jonathan Wilkinson had echoed similar concerns regarding price

manipulation and dumping of metals used in electric vehicles.

Canada as part of its effort to encourage investments in the

critical metal and electric vehicle supply chain has offered

investment tax credits in its recent annual budget that is set

to attract interest from global car makers such as Honda ( HMC )

.

Freeland said that while the U.S. has the Inflation

Reduction Act, legislation aimed at investments in clean energy

that transformed the global investment landscape, Canada's

investment policy is the only one in the world that gives the

U.S. "a run for its money".