Japan, U.S. to sign agreement on critical minerals for EV batteries

Japan and the United States plan to sign an agreement that will reinforce supply chain resilience for critical minerals used in electric vehicle batteries that will allow Japanese to receive U.S. tax credits, Japan’s industry minister said Tuesday.

Under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act ratified last August, a certain amount of critical minerals in the batteries of EVs manufactured in North America must be sourced or processed either domestically or from free trade agreement partners. The latest agreement will relax regulations and treat Japan as equivalent to such a trade partner in relation ...