EU and China agree on plan to iron out rare earth export restrictions
The EU and China agreed on a new mechanism to help smooth the export of rare earth elements and magnets, as Brussels pushed Beijing to take its trade concerns seriously, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a summit in the Chinese capital on Thursday.
“We agreed – and this is new – to have an upgraded export supply mechanism. In other words, if there are bottlenecks, this upgraded support supply chain support mechanism can immediately check and solve the problem or the issue that is out there,” von der Leyen said.
China’s chokehold on rare earth exports has become one of the biggest issues in the EU-China relationship and was high on Brussels’ agenda as its leaders sat down with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in separate sessions.
The tension stems from China’s decision to impose licensing requirements on the export of rare earth elements and magnets in April. The move was a response to US tariffs, but European firms were caught in the crossfire, with some production lines grinding to a halt.
A Blog for Browsing Mining, Mineral Processing, and Metals Info 