New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith has introduced legislation, known as the Stop China’s Exploitation of Congolese Children and Adult Forced Labor through Cobalt Mining Act, to ensure that minerals key to green energy in the U.S. are not extracted using child labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Specifically, the legislation aims to block cobalt extracted or processed with the use of child or forced labor from entering the U.S. market, as cobalt is a vital component of electric vehicle batteries and is largely sourced from the DRC where human rights investigations have found child labor to be rampant. Chinese companies often own cobalt mines in the DRC that export raw materials to China to be processed, with the majority of worldwide cobalt being processed in Chinese facilities.
The legislation was crafted alongside House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Smith, and will be marked up by the committee on Wednesday, setting it up for a potential floor vote in the near future. It was written in response to a congressional hearing chaired by Rep. Chris Smith in November, which brought attention to forced labor in the DRC. The aim of the bill is to block materials tainted by inhumane labor practices from entering the U.S. Rep. Jason Smith expressed gratitude to Rep. Chris Smith for introducing the legislation, emphasizing the importance of ending child and adult forced labor in the cobalt supply chain.
The DRC produced 74% of the world’s cobalt in 2023 and is home to more than half of known global reserves of the mineral, while the U.S. mined less than 1% of the world’s cobalt supply. It is estimated that up to 11% of cobalt produced in the DRC is tied to child labor, with more than 40,000 children, some as young as 6 years old, working in cobalt mines in the country. The legislation seeks to address the unethical mining practices in the DRC that involve forced labor and child labor. These practices have become a concern as the Biden administration pushes for a rapid transition to electric vehicles, with a focus on cleaner energy solutions.
President Biden has set ambitious targets for electric vehicle adoption in the U.S., with a goal for half of all new cars and trucks sold in 2030 to be zero-emission vehicles. The administration has finalized rules to push for more than 50% of car sales to be electric by 2030 and a significant portion of trucks to be zero-emissions by the same timeline. The legislation introduced by Rep. Chris Smith aligns with the administration’s goals of promoting cleaner energy solutions and addressing labor practices in the production of key minerals for green technology. It is part of a broader effort to ensure that the materials used in the U.S. for electric vehicles are sourced ethically and without the use of child or forced labor.
The legislation aims to prevent materials tainted by inhumane labor practices, such as child and forced labor, from entering the U.S. market. By targeting cobalt extracted or processed with the use of child or forced labor in the DRC, the bill seeks to address the exploitation of Congolese children and adult forced laborers in the cobalt supply chain. The bill underscores the importance of ethical sourcing of minerals key to green energy and aims to promote responsible practices in the production of materials for electric vehicles, aligning with efforts to transition to cleaner energy solutions in the U.S. The legislation is part of ongoing efforts to address human rights abuses in the supply chain and promote sustainable and ethical practices in the production of key minerals for green technology.
