The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
To foster secure supply chains for essential raw materials Metal Tech News – June 16, 2021
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and European Council President Charles Michel discussed critical mineral supply chains during a June 14 EU-Canada summit held in Brussels.
Canada and the European Union have forged a new strategic partnership to help secure the supply chains for minerals and metals critical to the global transition to a low-carbon and digitized economy, as well as reduce dependence on China for the raw materials essential to electric vehicles, renewable energy, and advanced battery storage.
Following the G7 summit, held in Cornwall, United Kingdom over the weekend, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau individually met with several leaders while he was in Europe, including a June 14 stop in Brussels for an EU-Canada summit to further conversations with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel.
As part of a broader conversation that included COVID-19, trade, climate change, and innovation, the leaders from opposite sides of the Atlantic committed to stronger collaboration on mining and mineral processing research and innovation, as well as creating new trade opportunities and private and public investment for critical mineral related businesses in Canada and the EU.
"We agreed on building a strategic partnership on raw materials," President von der Leyen said during a joint conference with Trudeau following their meeting. "We, as Europeans, want to diversify our imports away from producers like China – because we want more sustainability, we want less environmental damage, and we want transparency on labor conditions."
Trudeau agrees that EU- and Canada-centric supply chains would be more sustainable and offer job opportunities.
"In order to continue creating good, green jobs for the middle class, we must secure supply chains for critical minerals and metals that are essential for things like electric car batteries," the Canada prime minister said, following his meeting with von der Leyen.
To expedite trade cooperation between these cross-Atlantic economies, the leaders also reaffirmed the strong ties under the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. And, to build on this relationship, advanced an Authorized Economic Operator Mutual Recognition Agreement that will simplify border procedures and speed up the flow of trade between Canada and the EU, while enhancing security measures to ensure the safety and security of Canadians.
This is expected to increase predictability at the border and decrease fees and delays for Canadian businesses shipping goods to the EU.
President von der Leyen says this strengthening of CETA is "good for jobs, it is good for growth on both sides of the Atlantic."
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
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