Jump to navigation

Vol 64 No 22

Published 2nd November 2023


China, Europe and the US mull tariff war amid scramble for Africa's green minerals

Corporate rivalries and geopolitical tensions disrupt markets for electric vehicles | Special Report by Tim Concannon

Expectations for the UN COP28 Climate summit in Dubai next month are muted because their host is a leading fossil fuel economy and because of rising geopolitical tensions.

This year's United States Inflation Reduction Act by President Joe Biden's administration includes hundreds of billions of dollars of green financing in a law to protect US jobs and companies.

Now European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans a similar measure to protect European manufacturers of electric vehicles from what she thinks is susbsidised competition from China. 

Our climate editor, Tim Concannon looks at the implications of these rivalries for African economies which supply many of the critical green minerals. 

For a detailed analysis of these shifts, read our Special Report here: China, Europe and the US mull tariff war amid scramble for Africa's green minerals



Related Articles

The Gadaffi billions – how Libya plans to reclaim the stolen wealth

Colonel Moammar el Gadaffi stashed billions in US banks, and now Libya’s power brokers are vying for control of this hidden fortune. The scramble for wealth has ignited a fierce political battle in Tripoli – one so ruthless that the official leading the recovery has been forced into hiding, fearing for his life. An Africa Confidential Special Report by John Hamilton our North Africa correspondent and managing director of Cross-Border Information.

After three months in illegal detention – partly in one of Libya’s most brutal prisons – Mohammed al Mensli, Director-General of the Libyan Asset Recovery and Management Office...

READ FOR FREE

What did the UN COP28 Climate summit deliver for Africa?

The final communiqué at the end of the UN COP28 summit in Dubai on 13 December produced what its authors hailed as a breakthrough – it approved a roadmap for 'transitioning away from fossil fuels' | By Tim Concannon

It was a first for a UN Climate Conference. But it stopped short of what many delegates had called for – 'a phase-out' of the use of coal,...

READ FOR FREE

President Bio keeps cocaine lord in the family

One of Europe’s most wanted criminals is the partner of one of the President’s daughters and has transferred his operations to Freetown. An Africa Confidential Special Report By Josef Skrdlik and Andrew Weir

Sierra Leone has been in a state of shock ever since one of Freetown’s most astonishing urban myths was confirmed as fact – that one of Europe’s most...

READ FOR FREE