The European Union is “worried” by China’s move to tighten restrictions on rare earth minerals, with senior figures saying the controls will compound the deterioration in trade relations that have only “worsened” since a summit in July.
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On Thursday, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced a sweeping “upgrade” of rare earth licensing requirements that have been in place since April, expanding them to cover the export of technologies used to process the minerals.
The move also tightens licensing requirements for products containing even traces of rare earths produced in China, which has a near-monopoly on the market for the ingredients used in critical military and hi-tech goods.
There are fears in Europe that this could harm efforts to rearm and militarily support Ukraine since a lot of advanced arms and military equipment are reliant on these minerals.
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What are rare earths, and why is China’s dominance facing global pushback
What are rare earths, and why is China’s dominance facing global pushback
“Retaliatory measures are hitting us as collateral damage, and the best example of that is the export control measures of the Chinese government on rare earths that are hitting and hurting our companies, which have been even worsened today,” Jorge Toledo, the EU’s ambassador to China, said in an address to a conference in The Hague.
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