In a blow to US miners, Biden wants to import metals for EVs

Aim’s to build domestic battery manufacturing, cut down reliance on China and avoid a face off with environmentalists.

US President Joe Biden will rely on allied countries to supply the bulk of the metals needed to build electric vehicles and focus on processing them domestically into battery parts, part of a strategy designed to placate environmentalists, two administration officials with direct knowledge told Reuters news agency. The plans will be a blow to US miners who had hoped Biden would rely primarily on domestically sourced metals, as his campaign had signalled last autumn, to help fulfil his ambitions for a less carbon-intensive economy. Rather than focus on permitting more US mines, Biden’s team is more intent on creating jobs that process minerals domestically into electric vehicle (EV) battery parts, according to the officials.