WASHINGTON, Feb 22 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday touted progress by government and private industry to boost American production of minerals used to make electric vehicles and other renewable energy products, but stressed that new mines must benefit host communities and not damage the environment.
Washington has grown increasingly concerned that low U.S. production of minerals essential for the construction of future technologies could leave it beholden to China and other nations that have heavily invested in mining.
That has sparked a range of attempts by Biden, as well as his predecessors, to boost U.S. output of lithium, rare earths and other strategic minerals while balancing opposition from environmental and indigenous groups.
“We can’t build a future that’s made in America if we ourselves are dependent on China for the materials that power the products of today and tomorrow,” Biden saidat a White House event.
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