By Agency Report
Setting minimum prices, including for rare earths, could be an option in the international competition over access to critical raw materials, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Monday ahead of talks in Washington.
“We need to see how we can build up production in Europe, and for that there has to be a certain price level,” Klingbeil, who is also vice chancellor, said ahead of the rare earth minerals talks.
The United States, on short notice, invited finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7), Australia, South Korea, India and Mexico with the European Union also attending, to a meeting on the key minerals.
“What I do not want, however, is for us to join countries and pursue policies against third parties.”
He said the trading system had to be based on cooperation, not on working against each other “and minimum prices can be an option there.”
There are 34 substances deemed critical raw materials for the economy, such as lithium, cobalt, rare earths, copper or aluminium. They are essential for key technologies, but global supply depends on only a few countries, especially China.
