The federal government intends to make the project that creates the National Critical and Strategic Minerals Policy a priority in the Senate. The proposal, approved by the Chamber of Deputies this Wednesday (6), began to be treated by Planalto as a central piece of the Brazilian strategy for rare earths, industrialization and economic security.
The government leader in Congress, senator Randolfe Rodrigues (PT-AP), stated that the proceedings in the House should occur at an accelerated pace. According to him, the expectation is to conclude the vote in May.
“We’re going to move quickly with it,” declared Randolfe.
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The movement gained a diplomatic dimension after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) took the topic to the meeting with Donald Trump, held this Thursday (7), in Washington. During a press conference after the meeting, Lula stated that he presented the new framework to the American president as part of a national strategy to protect areas considered sensitive.
“I told President Trump that we did something extraordinary by approving the law on critical minerals in the Chamber,” said Lula. The president also highlighted the creation of a council linked to the Presidency of the Republic to deal with the issue “as a matter of national sovereignty”.
The approval of the project occurred after direct coordination between the government and the president of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB). Planalto worked to ensure that the text was voted on before Lula’s trip to the United States, amid increasing global competition for minerals used in strategic technologies.
Soon after approval, Lula called Motta and also the rapporteur of the proposal, deputy Arnaldo Jardim (Cidadania-SP), to thank him for conducting the vote. The president was already on American soil when he made the calls.
The text creates mechanisms to encourage the exploration and internal processing of critical minerals, including rare earths, lithium, nickel and niobium. The government’s objective is to reduce dependence on the export of raw ore and stimulate industrial chains linked to the energy transition, semiconductors, batteries and high-tech equipment.
The pressure to accelerate the proposal comes at a time of geopolitical reorganization of the global strategic minerals market. Brazil has the second largest reserves of rare earths on the planet, behind only China, but still participates to a limited extent in the global chain of processing and industrialization of these materials.
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