"The EU's executive on Wednesday announced new policies looking to coordinate the purchase and stockpiling of raw materials like the rare earth minerals crucial for the automotive, electronics and defense industries. The European Commission also said it would employ tougher economic policies with trade partners to better secure rare earths supplies. "The EU will also be more strategic in leveraging its economic weight and the access to its Single Market," the Commission said."
"China, the world's main supplier of rare earths responsible for more than two-thirds of production as of 2023, announced new controls on exports in October. This rattled markets and disrupted supply chains until Beijing later said it would suspend the measures for one year. It had already imposed stricter export licenses for certain materials in April. The European-Chinese dispute over the chip manufacturer Nexperia also caused concern in German industry, as it affected the country's key automobile sector."
The European Commission will coordinate purchases and stockpiling of raw materials, prioritizing rare earth minerals used in automotive, electronics and defense sectors. The Commission plans to deploy tougher economic tools with trade partners to secure supplies, including leveraging access to the Single Market. Existing measures to be repurposed for economic security include anti-dumping duties, controls on foreign takeovers and exclusions from public contracts. China, supplying over two-thirds of rare earth production, introduced export controls that disrupted markets before temporarily suspending them. Concerns about foreign influence in strategic firms and disputes over chipmaker takeovers have heightened worries in Germany's automobile sector. The United States has pursued bilateral deals to secure supplies, leaving other options limited.
Read at www.dw.com
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