The US-EU Will Talk About Minerals Important For Listr Vehicles

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke with US President Joe Biden at a meeting of G20 leaders on November 15, 2022 in Bali, Indonesia. Leon Neal/Pool through REUTERS

JAKARTA - Amid trade friction between the United States and the European Union, President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday, March 10, agreed that both sides would launch talks on essential minerals used for electric vehicles.

Biden and von der Leyen met at the White House with a European complaint background that clean energy subsidies in the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and others would divert investment from Europe and harm their economy. War in Ukraine is also the main agenda.

IRA Biden, a $430 billion law offering massive subsidies for US-made products and aimed at tackling the climate crisis and promoting renewable energy, has sparked European outrage. EU officials say allies must remain united and form a common front against threats greater than China.

The Biden administration has sought to address Europe's problems while adhering to the core principles of the law, which represented Biden's major domestic political victory following its passing.

In a joint statement following their meeting, the two leaders said they intend to "mediate start negotiations on the important mineral agreement targeted" to ensure that minerals extracted or processed at the EU will be calculated for a net vehicle tax credit under the IRA law.

"This kind of agreement will advance our common goal of increasing our mineral production and processing and expanding access to important mineral sources that are sustainable, reliable, and free from labor abuse," they said in the statement.

"Cooperation is also needed to reduce unwanted strategic dependence in this supply chain, and to ensure that they are diversified and developed with trusted partners," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, March 11.

Speaking in the Oval Room at the start of the meeting, both Biden and von der Leyen underlined the power of their partnership, and integrated support for Ukraine as well as efforts to hold Russia accountable for its invasion.

"We are not just partners, the European Union and the United States are good friends," von der Leyen said, highlighting US support for Europe in finding alternative energy supplies so EU members can reduce their dependence on Russian supplies.

"We support European energy security," Biden said. "And at the same time, we encourage new investments to create industry and clean energy jobs, and ensure we have a supply chain available to both of our continent."

The European Commission last month presented Green Deal's Industrial Plan in response to the US IRA law, with increased levels of state assistance to help Europe compete as a manufacturing hub for clean technology products.

Biden said the idea of encouraging investment and securing supply chains supported both measures.

Jake Colvin, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, a company lobbying group, urged the White House to raise US industry concerns about what it calls a "discriminatory digital sovereignty agency" aimed at undermine US companies.

"The equivalent transatlantic playing field is very important but it has to go both ways," he said. The White House needs to improve and underline the need for American companies to be regulated in the same way as their European counterparts when operating on the other side of the Atlantic."