WASHINGTON - A U.S. senator plans to introduce legislation on Thursday to streamline regulation and permitting requirements for the development of mines for lithium, graphite and other electric-vehicle supply chain minerals, part of a plan to offset China’s dominance in the space.
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, the Alaska Republican who is chair of the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, told Reuters she will introduce the Minerals Security Act alongside Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat. “The country should not go from dependence on oil from the Middle East for transportation, to dependence on China for electric vehicles and batteries,” said Robbie Diamond of Securing America’s Future Energy, a nonpartisan advocacy group for renewable energies.
Murkowksi said China’s lead in the EV supply-chain sector gives the country an edge in the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute.
I wonder about the environmental impact of lithium, nickel and copper mining. Possibly trading one environmental disaster for another?
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Labor cost will always be the challenge when challenging China