EV batteries spark rift over productivity

So far, Australia has been exporting 96 per cent of its lithium to China to be processed. And so far, the Albanese government's direct assistance to local businesses trying to build new industries has been relatively modest. That is despite calls for it to offer more to counter the hundreds of billions of dollars the Biden administration is offering companies to invest in renewables technology and manufacturing. But the commission's annual Trade and Assistance Review (TAR) is still targeting increasing Australian government interventions, arguing concessional financing and climate change policy are acting as a form of industry assistance with hidden…