Salivating about U.S. money pot European officials say that task that is good enough for China is simply too big for the United States of America

 

"U.S. and European officials are discussing how to set up a new group of allies that cooperate on procuring minerals used in clean-energy technologies, hoping to rely less on China while patching up a rift over U.S. subsidies for electric vehicles.

Under the plan to form a so-called critical-minerals club, the U.S. would negotiate trade agreements focused on such minerals with allies including Japan, the EU and U.K., according to people familiar with it. Once the allies have trade agreements between themselves, they would try to reach additional agreements with such countries as Ukraine or Zambia on securing supplies of raw materials essential to batteries and other clean-energy technologies, according to the people.

Supplies of critical minerals have been at the center of a spat between Washington and Brussels over the Inflation Reduction Act, which Congress passed last year.

The law overhauled subsidies for electric vehicles, creating a series of new requirements for vehicles to qualify for the full $7,500 tax credit. One of those new rules is that 40% of the value of the minerals in a vehicle's battery must come from the U.S. or a country with a free-trade agreement with the U.S. That percentage rises over time.

Several U.S. allies, including the EU and Japan, don't have free-trade agreements with the U.S.. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told The Wall Street Journal last month that those nations would need to negotiate new agreements to meet the law's sourcing requirements.

Both U.S. and European officials view the creation of a critical-minerals club as a way to try to resolve some of the tensions over the law.

Maros Sefc ovic , European Commission vice president for interinstitutional relations and foresight, said in an interview that he had discussed the creation of a minerals club with U.S. officials during a trip to Washington this week.

"I think we simply realize from both sides it's something which we need to do together because that task is simply too big, even for such a country like the United States of America," said Mr. Sefc ovic ." [1]

 

1.  U.S. News: U.S., EU Seek Link On Battery Minerals
Duehren, Andrew.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 16 Feb 2023: A.2.