Donald Trump’s flagship spending plan cuts support for US production of critical minerals, despite intensifying competition with China and efforts to reshore an industry essential to consumer and defence technology.
The legislation will remove a 10 per cent tax credit on the production costs of companies that extract, refine and recycle critical minerals — such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and magnesium — and penalise companies for using parts made by foreign countries. Estimates by Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation said the credit would reduce government revenue by $72.7bn between 2023 and 2027.
Industry executives said the move would damage efforts to build out US critical minerals companies, many of which are still nascent.