EU’s Vestager optimistic for U.S.-EU battery minerals deal similar to Japan’s

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said on Thursday that she is optimistic that an electric vehicle battery minerals trade agreement can soon be reached with the United States that is similar in substance to this week’s U.S.-Japan deal.

Vestager told reporters in Washington that European Union and U.S. negotiators are working on legal frameworks that would be different from the Japan deal. “And that is what has been holding up things, but we are quite optimistic that we can reach an agreement about the same sort of substantial scope as the Japanese.”

(Reporting by David Lawder)