The funding announcement is seen as a strategic move — one with strong bipartisan backing on Capitol Hill — that will help wean the U.S. off its reliance on China by offering up financing for projects struggling to compete in markets that are flush with Chinese investments and control.
“The number one thing that investors have said to me, over and over again when it comes to competing with China in this space, is they need low-cost capital,” said Abigail Hunter, Executive Director of SAFE’s Center for Critical Minerals Strategy, a group that was influential in helping launch the initiative.
“The greatest impediment to successful bids on projects is cost of capital compared to Chinese investors,” she added.
Read the full story: “Biden boosts lending authority for ex-China minerals.“
