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Why is Joe Biden travelling to Northern Ireland?

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As protests engulf parts of Northern Ireland, why is Joe Biden travelling there?

U.S. President Joe Biden‘s visit to Northern Ireland coincides with a particularly delicate time in politics there.

Dissidents in the city of Londonderry have been attacking police just a day before Biden‘s arrival. Most of this occurred during a rally opposing the 25th anniversary of the peace accord that capped the decades of sectarian violence known as the Troubles.

So what’s behind Biden‘s visit, and why does it matter?

Biden, along with the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, are marking the anniversary of that peace accord. Known as the 1998 Good Friday Agreement is was supported at the time by former President Bill Clinton. The fellow Democrat played a hand in its negotiations.

Biden has Irish ancestry, often quotes Irish poets, and is the first American president to visit Northern Ireland in 10 years.

But the trip comes at a sensitive political time. For example, pro-British unionists loyal to London continue to boycott the power sharing government. This was a major part of the Good Friday Agreement.

And because of Brexit, one of Belfast’s political parties, the Democratic Unionist Party, or DUP, is also protesting trade rules. These rules treat Northern Ireland different from the rest of the UK.

On Biden‘s agenda are meetings with representatives of five political parties, and he’s expected to float American investment opportunities to help break the impasse, but the White house said he was not planning to pressure them.

The DUP has previously criticised Biden when he waded into that Brexit debate before.

Violence also still crops up sporadically here.

The British intelligence agency MI5 recently raised the threat level for domestic terrorism in Northern Ireland to “severe,” the highest since the rating system was introduced 13 years ago.

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Is President Biden securing a ‘made in America’ supply chain for critical minerals?

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Rare earths elements are responsible for some of the most important materials involved in electric vehicle production, battery making, renewable energy systems and technology manufacturing.

 
Last year, President Joe Biden said he wanted to make rare earths an important domestic policy initiative and he signed an executive order to review gaps in the domestic supply chains for rare earths, medical devices, chips, and other key resources.

The Department of Energy announced a $30 million initiative to tap into researching and securing the U.S. domestic supply chain for rare earths and other important minerals in battery-making production.

But at the same time, President Biden also blocked the mining of rare earth minerals on more than 225,000 acres of federal land for more than 20 years.

Is it possible for the U.S. to change course and again have a seat at the table in producing rare earths elements?

To discuss further, Luisa Moreno the President of the Defense Metals Corp. joined us.
#rareearthelements #rareminerals #China #UnitedStates #Veronicadudo #luisamoreno

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Is the West too reliant on Chinese rare earth exports?

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Rare earths elements are needed to make iPhones, advanced batteries, military night-vision goggles and MRI machines. According to the U.S. Genealogical Survey, China was responsible for 80% of rare earths imports in 2019.

 
Critical earth minerals are a necessity for humans around the world.

They are essential to our modern-day lifestyles and critical in the creation of things such as iPhones, electric vehicles, and advanced precision weapons.

While the United States is dependent on other countries for many minerals, there is no country that America is more dependent on than China. And all these minerals come at a price.

Rare earths elements are needed to make everything from the technology we use every day like smart refrigerators and advanced batteries to night-vision goggles used by the military to MRI machines which are crucial to the medical field.

Many in the government, business, and science sectors have long raised concerns about how to ensure the West’s continued supply of these critical earth minerals.

The United States was once a dominant player in the rare earths supply chain, but for decades, that global market has been dominated by China.

According to the U.S. Genealogical Survey, China was responsible for 80% of rare earths imports in 2019.

Last year, the Biden administration even touted a new plan for the United States to rival China and end their decades-long dominance of rare earth metals market.

So, how reliant is the West on Chinese rare earth exports?

Luisa Moreno the President of the Defense Metals Corp joined us to discuss. #rareearthelements #china #unitedstates #greenagenda #veronicadudo #luisamoreno #trade

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Moscow says sending F-16 jets to Ukraine is a “colossal risk”

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As Ukraine braces a summer of violence, Kyiv is pleading for more air support from NATO

 
U.S. President Joe Biden recently granted his backing for Kyiv’s pilots to be trained on F-16 fighter jets.

These jets can be used in a variety of combat scenarios, including air-to-air or gound-attacks.

In fact, the U.S. Air Force has described these jets as a “relatively low-cost, high-performance weapon system.

Thousands of F-16s have been sent around the world. However, Kyiv has been requesting for this support for months.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky believes there is “substantial progress” in convincing western allies to equip Kyiv with fighter jets.

Zelensky said the jets are a “key component” of gaining an advantage over Russian forces.

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