Washington/Houston | US President Joe Biden will rely on ally countries to supply the bulk of the metals needed to build electric vehicles, and will instead focus on processing them domestically into battery parts, as part of a strategy designed to placate environmentalists, two administration officials with direct knowledge told Reuters.

The plans will be a blow to US miners, who had hoped Mr Biden would rely primarily on domestically sourced metals, as his campaign had signalled last autumn, to help fulfil his ambitions for a less carbon-intensive economy.

Reuters