The United States and Japan announce EV battery minerals trade deal

The two sides hope to rely less on China for EV battery materials.

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We’ve seen several American vehicle manufacturers ramp up their efforts to produce electric vehicles and get more on the road. This has not been an exclusively American trend, as other countries have also been looking to decrease the impact of motor vehicles on the atmosphere and ecosystem. The USA has inked a deal with another nation to ease access to the necessary materials to produce EV batteries. After brief negotiations, Japan and the United States have reached a trade deal for EV battery minerals.

The United States and Japan announced their new trade deal early this morning, as CNBC reported. Specifically, the deal prevents either side from putting restrictions into place that block the export of like nickel, lithium, cobalt, graphite, and other key minerals used to produce EV batteries. The United States and Japan are also hoping that this deal will make them less reliant on China for these materials, and the two sides aim to fight against “non-market policies and practices.”

The GM Blazer EV.

Source: General Motors

One interesting aspect of this deal is that it will allow more Japanese manufacturers to qualify for the $7,500 tax credit per electric vehicle via the Inflation Reduction Act that the Biden administration introduced in 2022. It will be interesting to see if the American government looks to loop more allied countries in on this deal.

Several American and Japanese manufacturers have steadily increased their EV production efforts in recent years. With the United States and Japan striking a trade deal for EV battery material, we’ll be watching with great interest to see how the move impacts the two sides’ production habits. As we keep an eye out for more developments on that front, as well as the rest of the electric vehicle industry at large, stick with Shacknews.

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_

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