Senator Promotes Bill to Impose Tariffs on Chinese Batteries, Solar Panels
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., urged Congress this month to pass two bills aimed at reducing U.S. reliance on China for critical minerals.
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"These measures would boost private sector confidence and allow us, our allies, and our partners to develop a critical mineral supply chain impenetrable to Beijing," Rubio wrote in an opinion piece in The Hill. "Unless we want a communist dictatorship to control our access to everything from cars to computers to warships, Congress must use all available tools to end China’s critical mineral monopoly."
The proposed Critical Mineral Supply Chain Realignment Act, which Rubio introduced in July, would impose 150% tariffs on “critical mineral-intensive goods" -- namely electromagnets, permanent magnets, batteries, solar panels, and solar wafers -- that are made by entities controlled by China, even if those products were manufactured in other countries (see 2407160041).
The Global Strategy for Securing Critical Minerals Act, which Rubio introduced with Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., also last month, would, among other things, expand collaboration with allies and partners on critical minerals projects.