Raw materials
EU and China strive for mediation in rare earths
The EU hopes to avoid bottlenecks in rare earths with a new mechanism. The agreement was reached at the EU China summit in Beijing. In details, however, the EU remained vague.
In view of great concerns in Europe due to China’s export controls on rare earths, the EU has said that with Beijing, the EU has agreed a new mediation mechanism. “We – and this is new – agreed to have an improved export delivery mechanism,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing. As a result, a problem that arises can be checked and solved in the event of bottlenecks, she said.
The German politician did not explain exactly how the mechanism works, for whom it applies and which concessions China did. The mechanism should provide more transparency about the granting of the licenses and how quickly the critical raw materials are delivered to the companies.
EU wants more reliability
China has to show more reliability in the delivery of critical raw materials, demanded by the Leyen. The background is that China has introduced an export check on seven rare earths and magnets made from it since the beginning of April. Companies worldwide have had to go through a lengthy and complicated application process since then.
In the course of the controls that Beijing imposed with the United States during the escalated customs dispute, the fear of production stops grew at industrial companies, because electric motors and sensors cannot do without the materials.
Information from the EU to the summit
dpa
Source: Stern
