European Union seeks to end dependency on China for rare earths

Published on 25/10/2025 - 15:55 GMT+2

The European Union is moving connected a strategy to trim its dependency connected Chinese captious earthy materials, European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said connected Saturday.

The renewed strategy comes successful a consequence to China's determination successful October to instrumentality tighter restrictions connected uncommon earths exports. The Asian elephantine had apt done truthful successful consequence to waste and acquisition tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, but von der Leyen pointed retired nan effect it would person connected Europe.

"If you see that complete 90% of our depletion of uncommon world magnets travel from imports from China, you spot nan risks present for Europe and its astir strategical business sectors," von der Leyen said astatine a convention successful Berlin.

These minerals are cardinal for EU industries, specified arsenic nan automotive, defence, Greentech and integer sectors.

Von der Leyen said that successful nan short term, nan EU would attraction connected uncovering solutions pinch its Chinese counterparts, but that it would besides ramp up its efforts to coordinate pinch different countries to unafraid entree to replacement sources of nan minerals.

"The purpose is to unafraid entree to replacement sources of captious earthy materials successful nan short, mean and agelong word for our European industries," von der Leyen said, "We will velocity up activity connected captious earthy materials partnerships pinch countries for illustration Ukraine and Australia, Canada, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Chile and Greenland".

The European Commission main said nan caller scheme, named RESourceEU, takes aft REPowerEU, an intiative launched aft Russia's penetration of Ukraine pinch nan purpose of strengthening nan EU's independency successful nan power sector, distant from Russian power sources.

"It starts pinch a information economy, not for biology reasons, but to utilization nan captious earthy materials already contained successful products sold successful Europe," von der Leyen said

"In addition, we will attraction connected everything, from associated purchasing to stockpiling. We will boost finance and strategical projects for nan accumulation and processing of captious earthy materials present successful nan European Union," she added.