US needs help from Quad allies India, Japan and Australia to reach energy goals: lawmaker

Stronger legislation would better counter China’s monopoly of battery components amid heated EV race, says American senator

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US senator James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, walks from the Senate floor following a vote in the US Capitol in Washington last month. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 6:00am, 12 Jun 2024

Amid US President Joe Biden’s push for green transport and tariffs on critical minerals from China, an American senator has urged stronger legislation to involve allies India, Japan and Australia in countering Beijing’s monopoly of battery components.

“We just know we’re short, but there’s no strategic plan of how we get there,” James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, told the Post on Tuesday, as he reiterated a call for the US to reduce its reliance on China for critical minerals.

China in 2022 accounted for 68 per cent of the world’s rare earth minerals production, crucial for applications like magnets and batteries, as well as 70 per cent of graphite production, used in lubricants, electric motors and even nuclear reactors.

The Asian economic giant also that year processed nearly 100 per cent of the world’s graphite supply, 90 per cent of rare earths and 74 per cent of cobalt – another critical mineral for batteries.

Last year, Beijing imposed restrictions on exports of gallium and germanium followed by new export controls on high-grade graphite.

“When you’ve got the close proximity for extraction in Australia and then processing in India, there’s an interest there,” said Lankford, who is the ranking member of the Senate Finance subcommittee on energy, natural resources and infrastructure.