The EU has urged China to stop restricting the export of rare earth minerals and magnets, with the bloc’s trade chief saying its industries are in an “alarming situation”.
The request was made during a meeting between the sides’ top commerce officials in Paris on Tuesday. It comes as sectors across Europe raise the alarm about a shortage of rare earths, which are used to manufacture hi-tech goods ranging from electric cars and smartphones to military tanks and aircraft.
“I informed my Chinese counterpart about the alarming situation in the European car industry, but I would say industry as such because clearly rare earths and permanent magnets are absolutely essential for industrial production,” Maros Sefcovic said on Wednesday, briefing reporters a day after his meeting with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.
Around 90 per cent of the world’s supply of rare earth minerals comes from China, which introduced export controls on their shipments in April in retaliation to US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs.
Rare earths consist of 17 elements. On April 4, Beijing added seven of these – dysprosium, gadolinium, lutetium, samarium, scandium, terbium and yttrium – to its export control list, plus several rare earth magnets, two days after Trump announced “reciprocal tariffs”, meaning licenses are now required for their export.
While such restrictions were ostensibly intended to punish the US, firms around the world have been caught in the crossfire. Business chambers and industry groups have urged European governments to push for a solution, as mineral stocks run low and some areas of production grind to a halt.
