{"text":[[{"start":10.38,"text":"EU lawmakers want Brussels to borrow from Donald Trump’s playbook by taking stakes in critical raw material projects, mirroring US and Japanese efforts to secure supplies of minerals essential for defence and clean technologies. "}],[{"start":23.39,"text":"Members of the European parliament last week voted to create an agency with the power to take stakes in raw materials companies when needed “to safeguard the union’s security of supply”, create EU stockpiles and to monitor supplies across the bloc. "}],[{"start":36.81,"text":"The move would help Europe reduce its dependency on Chinese minerals for critical technologies such as batteries and green technologies and be less vulnerable to falls in prices of critical elements, said Mohammed Chahim, the social democratic Dutch lawmaker leading the proposal. "}],[{"start":51.260000000000005,"text":"“European projects are very sensitive to market and global prices and the global prices can be manipulated by global players,” he said. "},{"start":58.789,"text":"The US and Japan, both countries that have invested in securing the supply of such minerals, “are way less vulnerable”, he noted. "}],[{"start":67.07000000000001,"text":"The Trump administration has spent heavily on developing its supply chain, including by taking stakes in producers of rare earths. "}],[{"start":74.77000000000001,"text":"Last summer, the Pentagon made a $400mn equity investment to take a 15 per cent stake in US rare earths producer MP Materials, along with a $150mn loan. "},{"start":85.84900000000002,"text":"It also signed a 10-year agreement to put in place a minimum price of $110 per kg of neodymium-praseodymium — a combination of rare earths used to make permanent magnets for technologies such as electric vehicles and robotics — stored or sold by MP Materials. "}],[{"start":101.55000000000001,"text":"The aggressive approach adopted by the US towards building up its supplies of critical minerals has led some to warn that Europe risks falling behind, with Bernd Schäfer, the head of industry group EIT RawMaterials, warning there is a risk of the US “becoming a second China for Europe” in terms of dependence on rare earth metals. "}],[{"start":118.61000000000001,"text":"The EU’s so-called Critical Raw Materials Centre would be funded with €2bn under the EU’s next long-term budget and is modelled on Japan’s Organization for Metals and Energy Security, a government entity that aims to maintain stable and affordable supplies of energy and minerals for the country. "}],[{"start":134.57000000000002,"text":"“We have been inspired by [Japan]. "},{"start":137.28700000000003,"text":"Don’t reinvent the wheel. "},{"start":138.90400000000002,"text":"It’s better to just copy it,” he said. "}],[{"start":141.77,"text":"The EU’s efforts to secure its supply chain have focused on designating strategic projects in mining, processing and recycling, which benefit from faster permitting, though are not guaranteed any public funding. "},{"start":153.137,"text":"Earlier this month, it selected 46 strategic projects to add to the existing 60 that benefit from these conditions. "}],[{"start":160.15,"text":"Chahim acknowledged that the proposal would require more funding from private actors, national governments and the European Investment Bank to compete with Japanese and US efforts. "},{"start":169.154,"text":"“If it stays at €2bn, then I don’t give the project a high probability of succeeding. ”"}],[{"start":175.27,"text":"The European Commission had planned to propose a centre through a legislative proposal this autumn but that initiative has been scrapped. "}],[{"start":182.57000000000002,"text":"Instead, Chahim has taken the unusual step of working with officials and other lawmakers to propose large amendments to the revision of the existing Critical Raw Materials Act, which sets minimum targets for mining, extracting and processing of minerals in the EU. "}],[{"start":196.99,"text":"But the proposed measures to create the agency and take equity stakes in “exceptional circumstances” will also need the approval of member states to become reality. "}],[{"start":205.89000000000001,"text":"Chahim said: “There was some scepticism from Germany, Spain and some other countries, but I know that at least now they are willing to interact. ”"}],[{"start":213.07000000000002,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1793002739_7583.mp3"}