Diversify raw material supply

The European Union (EU) and the United States are seeking to attract developing countries to a partnership aimed at regulating the supply of key raw materials.

During the meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council held in Louvain (Belgium), the two sides launched the Mineral Security Partnership Forum (MSP) with the participation of 24 countries under the co-chairmanship of Executive Vice President of the European Commission (EC) Valdis Dombrovskis and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Among the guest countries are Malawi, Angola, the Philippines, Brazil, Indonesia, Ukraine, Libya, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan... Mr. Dombrovskis said the EU and the US have made new and potentially better offers to developing countries to create more added value for these countries.

Raw materials are crucial to the digital and ecological transitions that the EU and the US are trying to achieve. However, the global supply chain for these minerals, such as lithium and cobalt, is largely dependent on China. The EU is working to achieve its independence, partly through direct partnerships with countries such as Norway. Moreover, the bloc will soon sign a critical raw materials partnership with Australia and is preparing to sign deeper partnerships with at least three other countries.

Meanwhile, the US consumes 9% of the world's rare earths. The demand is high, but there are many barriers that are currently preventing investors from mining minerals in the US due to environmental regulations, so the best solution at present is to cooperate with developing countries to diversify the supply.

The MSP Forum builds on an earlier partnership initiated by the United States in 2022 to accelerate the development of diverse and sustainable supply chains for critical energy minerals. It brings together 14 countries: Australia, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, the United States, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, Sweden and the European Commission.

VIET LE

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/da-dang-hoa-nguon-cung-nguyen-lieu-post734184.html