LEUVEN, Belgium — Brussels and Washington on Friday launched a forum with a group of resource-rich countries as part of their efforts to diversify their supply of raw materials needed for green and digital transition technologies.
“Many countries want to diversify and secure their resources of critical raw materials to reduce our dependence on a single or two suppliers,” Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said during the launch event. “Meanwhile, producing countries want to add value locally.”
The forum, launched during the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council summit in Leuven, is part of the Minerals Security Partnership, an initiative of 14 consumer countries and the EU that aims to channel investment into mining projects.
The announcement comes as Washington and Brussels have failed to seal a deal on a critical minerals agreement — something that had previously been floated as a potential summit deliverable — after more than a year of negotiations. Such an agreement would allow electric vehicle batteries made by European manufacturers to qualify for certain tax breaks provided by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
