The governments of the United States and Canada will leverage their alliance to build integrated supply chains, aiming to boost the global competitiveness of North America.
President Joe Biden’s state visit to Canada led to a pledge to fund bilateral projects using the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act, as well as the Canadian Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund, according to a White House statement released Friday.
This spring, the Biden administration intends to distribute $250 million in contracts under the Defense Production Act to U.S. and Canadian companies exploring critical minerals used in electric vehicles and energy storage batteries.
As part of the reinforced partnership, the U.S.-Canada Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals Cooperation was amended to expand the involvement of each country’s departments of state, commerce, defense, energy and geological survey. The objective is to increase information sharing and private sector engagement in research and development of essential mineral resources.
For Canada’s part, over $1 billion in financing from the Canadian Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund will be earmarked for clean energy and transportation infrastructure projects. Another $1 billion from the Canadian Strategic Innovation Fund will be invested in programs for advanced manufacturing, processing and recycling.
In an effort to strengthen the semiconductor industry, the U.S. will award $50 million in contracts to vendors from both companies, while Canada will obligate $250 million. Their initiatives are expected to generate jobs in the sector, improve cross-border semiconductor packaging trade and foster technological innovations focused on packaging and testing.
The two countries also agreed to address the growing demand for electric vehicles by coordinating joint training efforts with the automotive industry, battery makers and trade unions.