Since moving into the Oval Office, President Biden – who has prioritized "manmade climate change" as a major policy concern for his administration – has halted construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, and caved to environmentalists and the "green" industry by announcing a push for electric vehicles (EVs) over gas-powered vehicles. Now he has announced plans to outsource mining to produce most of the metals needed for manufacturing batteries for EVs.
Reuters reported last week that two administration officials with direct knowledge told the daily that this is "part of a strategy designed to placate environmentalists," which will further damage an economy that is still recovering from COVID-19 lockdowns and potential inflation induced by an administration that appears to be on a spending spree.
"The plans will be a blow to U.S. miners who had hoped Biden would rely primarily on domestically sourced metals – as his campaign had signaled last autumn – to help fulfill his ambitions for a less carbon-intensive economy," Reuters explains.
Making America dependent again?
In the wake of that decision, the conservative media is not only questioning Biden's allegiance to radical environmentalists over America's workforce, but also his competence to run the world's leading economy.
"Given that the materials in question are critical to the production of electric cars, solar panels and even fighter jets, one could be forgiven for wondering if Biden has finally lost his marbles," The Western Journal asserts.
"Indeed, the move directly contradicts an executive order in September by then-President Donald Trump that required the creation of a domestic supply chain of rare earth metals for the purposes of maintaining national security," that report continues, "[and] it also closely follows a devastating employment report that revealed the Biden administration added only 26% of its anticipated number of jobs in April – and it comes amid fears that Biden's immense tax increases will further kill jobs."
Reducing American workers to only manufacture products that the U.S. imports and buys from foreign entities was criticized as another one of Biden's strategies that has the effect of further weaking the country amongst its foreign competitors and enemies alike.
"[This] appears no more than the latest example of the administration's dedication to fostering global co-dependence at the expense of American workers," the Journal contends. "The sad state of affairs is not all that surprising, unfortunately, [because], after all, this is the president who told struggling coal miners that they should just 'learn how to program.'"
The Western Journal also notes what some have seen as a hypocritical decision regarding pipeline construction and the related jobs.
"This is the president who killed as many as 11,000 jobs by ending construction on the Keystone XL Pipeline and then refused to issue sanctions over Russia's detrimental Nord Stream 2 Pipeline [into Germany]," the Journal points out.
"At every turn, Biden has worked tirelessly to lift up foreign nations at the expense of working Americans. So no, his betrayal of American miners is not a surprise – but it is still a betrayal, and it is still a disgrace."
Strip-mining the economy?
However, some Democrats argue Biden hasn't gone far enough to cease domestic mining ventures and damage the economy in the name of saving the planet. For example, Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota) introduced a bill seeking to permanently block Antofagnasta PLC's proposed Twin Metals copper mine in Minnesota.
"It rings hollow when I hear everyone use this as a national defense argument – that we have to build new mines to have a greener economy," McCollum argued, according to Reuters.
Attempting to appease both sides, Deputy White House national climate adviser Ali Zaidi insists the Biden administration is working toward a win-win situation for environmentalists and American workers – despite the president's declaration to outsource mining overseas.
"President Biden is focused on seizing the electric vehicle market – sourcing and manufacturing the supply chain here in America, and creating good-paying, union jobs," Zaidi claimed. "Building American-made EVs and shipping them around the world will include leveraging American-made parts and resources. This includes responsibly pursuing, developing and mining critical minerals and materials used for EV batteries."
Yet it appears that miners from both small and large U.S. companies will bear the brunt of Biden's foreign metal mining plans, with blocked projects predominantly falling on smaller, U.S.-focused companies.
"We can no longer push the production of the products we want to places we cannot see and to people we will never meet," stated Mckinsey Lyon of Perpetua Resources Corp, who is striving to develop the Stibnite mine in Idaho so it can produce gold and antimony for the production of EV battery alloys.
Regardless of the Democratic Party's rhetoric, the Journal argues that shipping mining jobs overseas isn't good for American workers or the economy – but instead only for the green industry and climate change alarmists.
"What is clear is that Democrats, once again, are selling out the American people to global interests," the Journal concludes. "Once again, the American people will suffer because of the inane influence-peddling of a president too sheepish to stand up for the very workers he swore to serve."
