New Jersey Republican introduces bill to block child labor from use in domestic EV industry [Video]

FIRST ON FOX: New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith has introduced legislation that would ensure minerals key to green energy in the U.S. are not extracted using child labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Smith’s legislation — called the Stop China’s Exploitation of Congolese Children and Adult Forced Labor through Cobalt Mining Act — would specifically block cobalt extracted or processed with the use of child or forced labor from entering the U.S. market. Cobalt is a vital component of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, but is largely sourced from the DRC where human rights investigations have found child labor is rampant.

And Chinese companies often own cobalt mines in the DRC that export raw materials to China to be processed. The vast majority of worldwide cobalt is processed in Chinese facilities, according to the International Energy Agency.

“The Communist Chinese government — which has gained almost full dominance of every single step of the cobalt supply chain — profits from …