(Ottawa) Unblocking North America’s supply chain and making it more resilient to external shocks – especially those from China – is at the top of François-Philippe Champagne’s agenda as he begins two meeting days in Washington.
Mr Champagne told The Canadian Press that his presence in the US capital from Wednesday will serve to pressure the Biden administration over the potential of Canada’s largely untapped rare earth mining sector, which would allow the United States. United – and their continental neighbors – to be less dependent on China, the world’s leading supplier of these minerals.
“We have the talent, we have the renewable energy, we have the essential minerals, we have the manufacturing base, we have the geostrategic location to do it. We can be leaders in the world, ”said Mr. Champagne in an interview.
“Therefore, that’s really what I’m going to suggest to our American colleagues and later in the week (to) our Mexican colleagues. ”
Mr. Champagne is the federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, a portfolio he describes as being at the heart of rebuilding the Canadian economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. And he’s building on his former cabinet posts in the Trudeau government in foreign affairs and international trade with this trip to the U.S. capital and Mexico later in the week.
Mr Champagne will take up the torch of talks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US President Joe Biden and others held at the G20 summit last week in Rome on mitigating the tightening of the supply chain that has obstructed American ports.
Pandemic-induced bottlenecks have created shortages of the semiconductors and rare earth minerals needed to power everything from computers and cellphones to electric vehicles – obstacles to both economic recovery and the fight against climate change.
Mr. Champagne said that a “regional” concentration of the supply chain is needed to make the North American continent more self-sufficient and less vulnerable to foreign forces. It would also take advantage of the new version of the North American Free Trade Agreement, known in Ottawa as the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA.
The vulnerability that the continent’s economy experienced at the start of the pandemic, including shortages of personal protective equipment and access to vaccines, must not be repeated, the minister insisted. Much, he said, was due to a dependence on China, which now needs to be addressed.
This, he said, has led to a “time when we should think and say, ‘how will we make sure that we are more resilient for the critical elements that we will need to ensure prosperity in the 20’s. Next 30, 50 years? “.
Cooperation on the exploitation of rare earth minerals in order to support a self-sufficient and green electric car market would be a major way to achieve this, said Champagne.
China is the world leader in the extraction of rare earth minerals, accounting for almost two-thirds of production, but Canada has around 15 tonnes of minerals that remain untapped. In addition, 13 of the 35 minerals that the United States has identified as essential to its national and economic security originate from Canada. These include potash, indium, aluminum, tellurium, niobium, tungsten, and magnesium.
“I think we are witnessing a generational transformation towards electrification. I think this offers huge opportunities, said Champagne. Whether it’s around the battery ecosystem, whether it’s around the electric vehicle, whether it’s around life sciences, we have a lot to gain if we work more closely. ”
That said, trade irritants with the Americans persist and Mr Champagne has mentioned that he will push for relief on two fronts in Washington.
Canada has already joined two dozen countries in protesting the Biden administration’s proposed tax credit for electric vehicles, calling it a violation of international trade rules.
And Mr. Champagne will continue Canada’s ongoing efforts against any “Buy American” provisions proposed in US aid programs that would limit the ability of Canadian companies to bid on US government contracts.
During a visit to Washington last month, Chrystia Freeland, the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister, said Canada would counter any “Buy American” provisions by limiting access to American companies.
Mr. Champagne suggested that using access to rare earth minerals as a bargaining chip with the Americans was not something he was interested in.
“My approach with the Americans is always to show that it is in our interest to do things together, to always come back to the fact that a decision on one side will have an impact on both,” he said. declared.
“You have to repeat these things to make sure our friends always remember and appreciate the integrative nature of our economy. ”
Business Council of Canada President Goldy Hyder said Canada should negotiate with the United States to secure any future access to rare earth minerals due to persistent Buy American threats and other protectionist policies. of the Biden administration.
“We have a fiduciary duty to the Canadian people to assert our independence, our sovereignty, our responsibility, our ownership of these assets,” said Mr. Hyder.
“We have to make sure this isn’t seen as something that anyone can just come in and take and claim. ”
Mr. Champagne was due to meet with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and scientific officials from the White House on Wednesday.