Chinese lithium will remain cheaper because of slave labor

Justin Trudeau at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York

The Canadian prime minister relies on the domestic raw materials economy.

(Photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Press)

new York According to Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the cheaper price for lithium from China is due to forced labour. “If we’re being honest, lithium produced in Canada will be more expensive because we don’t use slave labor,” Trudeau told the Council on Foreign Relations think tank in New York on Friday.

Trudeau also listed environmental protection, working in partnership with indigenous peoples, paying a living wage and complying with safety standards as other reasons. There was initially no comment from China.

After the delivery difficulties in the coronavirus pandemic, Canada wants to rely more on domestic resources. China is the world’s leading producer of lithium, which is used in e-car batteries, among other things.

The USA also accuses China of using forced labor in mining, for example. According to a report by the US Department of Labor, most of the cobalt mines in the DRC are also operated, financed or owned by Chinese companies. Child labor is used in the process.

More: The contradictory China course of the USA

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