The United States intends to work with the new Brazilian administration to explore ways to facilitate critical minerals projects in the country while China continues to be the main supplier of those, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez said during a congressional hearing on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th July, 2023) The United States intends to work with the new Brazilian administration to explore ways to facilitate critical minerals projects in the country while China continues to be the main supplier of those, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez said during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
"We intend going forward with the new Brazilian administration to explore ways to pursue critical mineral projects going forward. Brazil could be a very valuable partner in finding critical minerals," Fernandez told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Right now, those critical minerals for the most part, 80 to 90% of them, come from the PRC."
Earlier in July, the Brazilian authorities approved the export of lithium minerals and their derivatives to attract additional investments in the country's southeastern state of Minas Gerais, with expectations to attract $2.76 billion in investments by 2030 and create 7,000 additional workplaces.
Fernandez also noted that the United States has to do more in the Western hemisphere in terms of critical minerals, including working on related projects in Argentina, Chile, and Peru.
Additionally, Fernandez said that the United States engages on a weekly basis with 14 member countries of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) to discuss specific projects on critical minerals and is trying "to do more" with Indonesia, which has a number of critical minerals as well, Fernandez added.
In June 2022, the United States and its partners announced the establishment of MSP to bolster critical mineral supply chains. The US-led partnership includes Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Italy, India and the European Commission.
