On Friday 17 April, the EU Member States finally gave the green light to the European Commission to sign on their behalf the Memorandum of Understanding establishing a Strategic Partnership on Critical Minerals with the United States and the EU-US Action Plan for Critical Minerals Supply Chain Resilience (see EUROPE 13840/7).
In particular, further work was needed on the action plan. In a version dated 27 March, the Plan insisted, among other things, on “a plurilateral trade initiative with like-minded partners on trade in critical minerals, which would support the objective of ensuring the mutual resilience of critical minerals supply chains” at a time when China is also accused of manipulating prices.
This included discussing the feasibility and development of coordinated trade policies and commercial mechanisms such as “border-adjusted floor prices, standards-based markets, subsidies to bridge price gaps or off-take agreements, focusing initially on certain commonly agreed critical minerals and related supply chains”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)