EU working with G7 partners on response to China rare earth controls

Workers use machinery to dig at a rare earth mine in Ganxian county in central China's Jiangxi province on Dec. 30, 2010. (Chinatopix via AP, File)

The EU is co-ordinating with G7 partners on a response to China’s “unjustified” export controls on rare earths, the bloc’s trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said Tuesday.

China last week announced new controls on the export of rare-earth technologies. It is the world’s leading producer of the minerals used to make magnets crucial to the auto, electronics and defence industries.

“Such restrictions have already forced some EU companies to halt production, causing real economic harm. This is not about security or non-proliferation. These controls are targeting civilian industries directly,” Sefcovic said.

“Therefore we cannot stand by, and we need a coordinated response,” the trade chief told reporters in Denmark after meeting EU ministers.

“I am in close contact with my G7 counterparts, also engaging with China to find solutions.”

He added that he planned to speak to top Chinese officials next week.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he would slap additional 100 per cent tariffs on goods from the country after China’s move on rare earths.

“It is bad news that the trade conflict between the US and China has accelerated. Once again, it’s undermining world trade, and the effect could be felt in Europe as well,” Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen warned during the press conference with Sefcovic.