U.S. And Japan Close Critical Minerals Deal To Counter China's EV Dominance

The United States and Japan have sealed a deal to cooperate on critical minerals for batteries that will see the two try and move EV supply chains away from China. According to the deal, per the Wall Street Journal, Japan and the U.S. will remove export levies on the EV minerals they trade and they will also align their labor standards in the mining department. This will make Japan a mineral supplier eligible to participate in projects that have won financing under the Inflation Reduction Act. The new deal, which is an addition to a 2019 trade…