Trump may start to worry about Brazil, says Lula about rare earths

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this Friday (10) that United States President Donald Trump may "start to worry" about Brazil in the global dispute over rare earths and critical minerals.

The statement was made during a meeting at Palácio do Planalto on critical and strategic minerals, called to discuss the government's policy for the sector, the level of value addition in the country and the role of the State in monitoring projects considered sensitive.

"If Trump is worried about China, he may start to worry about Brazil, as we will be able to do the same things, or more qualified ones, that the Chinese do. We don't want to be a seller of raw materials, we want to be an exporter of intelligence, of knowledge", said Lula.

The speech comes amid the race of great powers to reduce China's dependence on critical mineral chains. The Asian country dominates central stages of processing and refining rare earths, inputs used in permanent magnets, wind turbines, electric cars, electronic equipment, defense systems and high-performance technologies.

Despite having one of the largest global reserves of rare earths, Brazil still has limited participation in production and, mainly, in the highest value-added stages of the chain.

Today, the country has only one project in commercial operation and most of its initiatives are in the research, licensing, technological development or search for financing phases.

The discussion takes place as the government tries to formulate a national policy for critical and strategic minerals.

The topic gained strength after the approval, by the Chamber of Deputies, of the project that creates a council linked to the Presidency of the Republic to define priorities, monitor projects and establish value-adding instruments in the sector.

The meeting was also treated as part of a government effort to calibrate policy on critical minerals. The central question is how far the State should go to induce value addition, monitor sensitive operations and prevent the country from being just an exporter of raw materials, without creating rules that scare away investors or delay projects still in development.

Source: CNN