A trio of House Republicans is challenging five top Biden administration Cabinet secretaries to explain why a company controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was able to buy Canada’s Neo Lithium Corp. with no review by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
“The Canadian mining company Neo Lithium Corp. has recently been acquired by Chinese state-owned firm Zijin Mining Group Ltd,” the three House Republicans wrote in a Feb. 23 letter. “This deal required review and consent from the Canadian government.”
The letter, authored by Reps. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), and Lance Gooden (R-Texas), was addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
“The acquisition by the [CCP] of a Canadian critical mineral mining company with an existing lithium project in South America is highly concerning and raises a litany of questions regarding [U.S.] and Canadian understanding of the threat imposed by the Chinese Communist Party,” the letter reads. “The Canadian government’s complicit approval also raises questions regarding the extent of cooperation with the United States in accordance with the Action Plan, including whether the United States government was aware or notified of the pending transaction.”
The action plan referred to in the letter is the U.S.–Canada Joint Action Plan for Critical Minerals Cooperation (Action Plan), which was agreed to in January 2020 by then-President Donald Trump and Trudeau.
The agreement was intended to ensure communication and cooperation between the two countries regarding expanded “Critical Minerals” mining, operations, and ownership.
Critical Minerals are extremely scarce mineral resources such as lithium, platinum, and tellurium that are essential for high-technology products such as wind turbines, batteries for electric vehicles (EV), solar panels, computer displays, and cellphones, as well as in military applications.
All five Cabinet secretaries addressed in the letter from the House trio have duties under the Action Plan. The secretaries are all appointees of President Joe Biden.
The acquisition of Neo Lithium by a CCP-controlled company was completed last month, giving Zijin Mining Group Ltd. control of the 3Q lithium brine project in Argentina.
Trudeau’s government didn’t conduct the review required by the Action Plan agreement with the United States.
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Waltz Leads Letter Pressing Administration on Chinese Purchase of Canadian-Owned Mine
Letter Questions Attention to the Chinese Communist Party Threat and Prioritization of the U.S.-Canada Joint Action Plan for Critical Minerals Cooperation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, U.S. Representatives Mike Waltz (FL-6), Elise Stefanik (NY-21), and Lance Gooden (TX-5) sent a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Interior Debra Haaland, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm pressing the Biden Administration on its knowledge and involvement in the Chinese state-owned acquisition of Neo Lithium Corp and the results of the U.S.-Canada Joint Action Plan for Critical Minerals Cooperation (Action Plan).
The letter raises questions regarding whether the United States was notified during Action Plan engagements or dialogues of the pending acquisition by the Chinese state-owned firm Zijin Mining Group Ltd and why a United States review did not occur. Days after the Canadian government consented to the agreement, Argentina joined China’s Belt and Road initiative.
“Just this week the Biden Administration touted its efforts to secure domestic supply of critical minerals that economic, energy, and national security relies, yet our neighbors in Canada, that we have an existing Action Plan to address this very issue with, have rubber-stamped the Chinese Communist Party’s acquisition of a lithium mine in the Western Hemisphere,” said Rep. Waltz. “A sale of this magnitude to our greatest global adversary is deeply concerning and runs counter to the stated goal of securing a critical mineral supply chain for the U.S. and our allies. The United States and Canada have been collaborating within an Action Plan for two years, this result raises serious questions about the attention and progress the two countries are putting into securing the critical mineral supply chain.”
“The Chinese Communist Party’s influence and control over U.S. supply chains is reason for concern for every American,” said Rep. Stefanik. “The Chinese takeover of a Canadian mining company further threatens North American supply chains, and Americans deserve to know how this transaction came about and whether it was in accordance with the U.S.-Canada Joint Action Plan. I’m pushing for transparency, so Congress can ensure U.S.-Canadian resources are not further jeopardized by the Chinese Communist Party.”
“Canada’s decision to allow the sale of a lithium mine to a Chinese company undermines the national security of both our nations and the American people deserve to know if the Biden Administration was aware or did anything to prevent it from occurring,” said Rep. Gooden. “China will stop at nothing to monopolize the global critical mineral supply and it is vital the United States and our allies work together to prevent this.”
The letter prods at why the Action Plan document is an “internal” government document, unavailable to the public. This has resulted in opaque engagements between the two countries. The American people deserve an update on the Action Plan engagements that President Biden pledged to “strengthen”.
The letter lays out additional concerns:
In February 2021, President Biden announced agreement to “strengthen” the Action Plan. Since then, it has been reported that Secretary Raimando and other federal officials have agreed to meet quarterly with Canadian counterparts to discuss supply chains, including critical minerals.
…
We understand that at a minimum, the Action Plan is intended to spark collaboration for sharing information and analysis, and to promote overall coordination in the interest of securing the U.S.-Canada supply chain for critical minerals. This interagency effort is intended to include industry across a broad range of strategic sectors. We would expect the working group or sub-groups to consider acquisition strategies, information sharing, monitoring foreign ownership and control of industry investments (including downstream), identifying data gaps, prioritizing minerals with disruption vulnerabilities and greatest demand, project financing, licensing and rights agreements, processing agreements, and minority shareholdings considerations.
We are requesting a briefing regarding previous Action Plan working group engagements, initiatives, dialogues, recommendations, and information. We also seek all plans for the “strengthened” Action Plan. Additionally, we ask that any notification or communication between the Canadian government and United States agencies regarding the Neo Lithium acquisition be provided in the brief, plus a legal justification for the United States not conducting a formal review of the transaction, and transcripts from Secretary Raimondo’s November meetings with Canada’s Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne. If any information to be covered in such brief is classified (as in Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States jurisdiction), we will accommodate a secure space at the Capitol for the discussion.
Read the full letter here.
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