On Monday June 21st, 2021, Canada and the European Union agreed to set up a Strategic Partnership on Raw Materials. Through this agreement, both parties openly seek to diversify and reinforce their supply chains for minerals and metals essential to the transition to a carbon-neutral and digitized economy – in a sector overly dominated worldwide by the People’s Republic of China.
This partnership initially articulates around three main pillars:
- A trade and investment chapter to offer financial support for critical mineral projects to leverage and de-risk private investment, and to enhance the integration of EU-Canada raw material value chains;
- An enhanced collaboration in science, technology and innovation;
- A joint work to develop ESG criteria and standards.
In a “Policy Discussion” held on February 16th, 2022, the European Union Chamber of Commerce to Canada convened four industry and academic experts from both sides of the Atlantic — Dr. Sophia Kalantzakos, Constantine E Karayannopoulos, Ian M. London, Dr. Roland Gauß; to discuss what this partnership means in practical terms, how prepared the parties involved are, what kind of obstacles they might face, and what opportunities this partnership might offer in the near-to-mid future.
Download the Report – The European Union Canada’s Partner for Supply Chain Diversification of Critical Minerals