EU moves forward with Critical Minerals Agreement negotiations with the US

Yesterday, the European Commission adopted its negotiating directives for a Critical Minerals Agreement (CMA) with the United States. The objective is to foster EU-US supply chains in critical raw materials needed in the production of electric vehicle batteries. In 2022 alone, the EU exported €8.3 billion worth of critical raw materials relevant to this industry.

Concluding an EU–US CMA will ensure that as an ally, the EU is granted a status equivalent to US free trade agreement partners pursuant to the US Inflation Reduction Act. EU firms will then be able to compete on a level playing field with US and third country competitors on the US market, such as Chile, the Republic of Korea, and Japan.

Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade, said: “Negotiating a Critical Minerals Agreement with the US is key to ensuring that the EU, as an US ally receives an FTA-like treatment under the IRA. It will ensure that the EU mining and chemical companies have fair and frictionless access to the US market and are able to supply both EU and US electric vehicle producers. We need rapid progress on this targeted agreement so that EU companies are treated the same way as US companies under the IRA. It will also strengthen our cooperation on developing clean technologies as part of the green transition, and expand access to sources of critical minerals that are sustainable, trusted and free of labour abuses.”