Washington — A group of U.S. senators is introducing legislation to boost domestic production of “critical minerals” that are often imported from China to make electric car batteries.
The legislation, sponsored by Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., Martha McSally, R-Ariz., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, comes as automakers like Tesla Inc. and Volkswagen AG are making plans to ramp up their electric-car battery production in the United States.
Murkowski said in a statement that it is important for the U.S. not to cede ground to China in the race to power electric cars that several automakers are banking their futures on.
“Our reliance on China and other nations for critical minerals costs us jobs, weakens our economic competitiveness, and leaves us at a geopolitical disadvantage,” Murkowski said of the legislation, known as the American Mineral Security Act.
“Our bill takes steps that are long overdue to reverse our damaging foreign dependence and position ourselves to compete in growth industries like electric vehicles and energy storage.”
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