One of Australia’s largest unions is calling on the federal government to impose a “punitive tax” on exports of unprocessed critical minerals to China to protect the country’s national interest.
On May 16, Daniel Walton, the national secretary of the Australian Workers Union (AWU), warned of the risks of exporting raw materials to China without a plan to build up domestic processing capacity.
“Australia has been blessed with the world’s most enviable supply of critical minerals, but simply digging these precious materials up and loading them on ships is an incredibly limited way to view the opportunity,” he said….