The United States is optimistic it will conclude an agreement with the European Union to allow critical minerals mined or processed in Europe to qualify for U.S. clean vehicle tax breaks, a senior U.S. official said on Monday…The transatlantic partners are negotiating whether and how EU critical minerals, such as lithium and nickel, can qualify for green subsidies under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which promotes products manufactured in North America…He added there was no plan to tie an agreement on critical minerals to the result of separate transatlantic negotiations to resolve a bilateral dispute over U.S. import tariffs on EU steel.

Jose Fernandez, US Department of State Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment joins Bloomberg Surveillance to discuss critical minerals supply, relations with China, and the future of pandas in the United States. Click on blue title to access video.

The proposal by U.S. President Joe Biden's administration to hike fuel economy standards through 2032 would cost General Motors $6.5 billion in fines and Chrysler parent Stellantis $3 billion, according to a letter seen by Reuters…The American Automotive Policy Council, representing GM, Stellantis and Ford Motor, said in a letter to the U.S. Energy Department on Friday that the size of the expected penalties for not meeting proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements are "alarming."…Ford separately faces about $1 billion in penalties, the letter said, while Volkswagen faces upwards of $1 billion, the most among foreign automakers…The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in July proposed hiking CAFE standards by 2032 to a fleet-wide average of 58 miles per gallon by boosting requirements 2% per year for passenger cars and 4% annually for pickup trucks and SUVs…DOE wants to significantly revise how it calculates the petroleum-equivalent fuel economy rating for EVs in NHTSA's CAFE program…"Encouraging adoption of EVs can reduce petroleum consumption but giving too much credit for that adoption can lead to increased net petroleum use because it enables lower fuel economy among conventional vehicles," DOE said in April…Automakers buy credits or pay fines if they cannot meet CAFE requirements. In June, Reuters first reported Stellantis and GM paid a total of $363 million in CAFE fines for failing to meet U.S. fuel economy requirements for prior model years.

When Felix Tshisekedi took office as president of the Democratic Republic of Congo following a disputed election in 2018, he promised to end decades of political repression and corruption that had stifled development in the Central African country…But as he prepares for a re-election bid in December, rights groups, international allies and rivals accuse his administration of stifling dissent just as previous government's did while he was in opposition…In recent months, soldiers gunned down anti-U.N. protesters in the eastern city of Goma, and the body of a prominent opposition lawmaker was found in his car. Police have dispersed opposition rallies with tear gas, and at least two journalists have been detained on allegations of spreading fake news…Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are being "severely tested" in Congo, said Jean-Claude Katende, president of the African Association for the Defence of Human Rights (ASADHO)…"Violation of these freedoms will lead to social and political violence and contestation of the results," he told Reuters, referring to potential fallout from the elections to be held on Dec. 20…Tshisekedi will face a field of opposition candidates that includes Martin Fayulu, whose claim that he won the 2018 presidential election led to post-electoral friction, and Nobel Peace Prize-winning gynaecologist Denis Mukwege…Still, a disputed election could further destabilise a country already struggling to contain a myriad of armed groups and a rebellion…Congo is the world's top supplier of cobalt, used in making batteries in electric vehicles, and its third-biggest copper producer. It is not clear if the political problems will have a direct impact on foreign investment…Chinese and other commodities investors continue to pour in billions, particularly in copper and cobalt projects…The United States has expressed concern about reports of attacks on political figures, harassment of opposition supporters, politicised judicial proceedings and arbitrary detentions…In the preceding months, the bullet-riddled body of former transport minister and opposition lawmaker Cherubin Okende was found in his car, and opposition protests over alleged irregularities in voter registration led to clashes with police...In September, presidential candidate and one-time Tshisekedi ally Jean-Marc Kabund was sentenced to seven years in prison for spreading false rumours and insulting the head of state, after he called Tshisekedi a "danger" and lambasted his government in a speech. He says the charges were politically motivated…Rights groups say independent media are also facing increased threats. They say a particular red flag is a new press law and digital code, enacted in April, that means journalists face potential prison time for sharing information deemed false.