The European Union and USA announced this Friday that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a “strategic alliance” on critical mineralswith the aim of strengthening cooperation in this area, although The agreed commitments are not binding.
The alliance is linked to the trade agreement that the parties closed in July of last year. In practice, it should serve promote “bilateral cooperation” throughout the value chain in the field of critical minerals. This includes exploration, extraction, processing, refining, recycling and recovery.
In parallel, the European Commissioner for Trade, Maros Sefcovicand the United States Trade Representative, Jamieson Greerhave presented an action plan “for the Resilience of the Critical Minerals Supply Chain.” The document will allow strengthen cooperation and opens the door to possible plurilateral trade agreements, in a coordinated manner.
“It is encouraging to see how cooperation between the EU and the US on critical raw materials materializes,” Sefcovic said in a statement. “The vision is clear; now The real test lies in the execution, transforming shared ambitions into high-impact projects,” said the Slovenian, accustomed to having to deal with the White House.
Collaboration and investment
According to the document, the memorandum will allow the United States and the EU identify projects of interest in which to collaborate in third countries and mutually encourage investment. They also commit to fighting against “non-market policies and unfair business practices” in this sector.
Besides, Brussels and Washington will exchange information on restrictions on imports of these materials by third parties or possible supply problems. They will also collaborate on innovation projects, for example, to improve recycling processes or the life cycle of these materials.
The text in any case It is still a political agreement, without legal validitywhich will depend largely on the willingness of both partners to cooperate. “He Safe and sustainable access to critical minerals is vital for the competitiveness and resilience of the EU economy,” said the Vice-President of the Commission for Industrial Policy, Stéphane Séjourné.
The Frenchman has pointed out that This type of agreement allows the bloc to diversify its suppliers and reduce dependencies. “Critical minerals are fundamental to any future-oriented industry; thereforeresilience is inevitable and addressing vulnerabilities is imperative“added Sefcovic.
Subscribe to continue reading
