Speaking afterwards, Ms von der Leyen said the goal was “to have an agreement on critical raw materials that have been sourced or processed in the EU; that these strategic supply chains are able to access the American market as if they had been sourced in the United States and also access to all the necessary benefits from the United States”.
She also said they had discussed “Russia’s atrocious war in Ukraine” and that there was a “strong focus on the question of sanctions” and on enforcement and preventing circumvention. “This kind of agreement would further our shared goals of boosting our mineral production and processing and expanding access to sources of critical minerals that are sustainable, trusted, and free of labour abuses. Co-operation is also necessary to reduce unwanted strategic dependencies in these supply chains, and to ensure that they are diversified and developed with trusted partners."
“We are working against zero-sum competition so that our incentives maximise clean energy deployment and jobs - and do not lead to windfalls for private interests.