MINEX Forum

Tag: rare earth export controls

  • EU and China Open Three-Month Trade Talks to Avert Trade War Over €360 Billion Import-Export Imbalance

    EU and China Open Three-Month Trade Talks to Avert Trade War Over €360 Billion Import-Export Imbalance

    The European Union and China have agreed to enter three months of formal trade consultations aimed at averting a trade war over the bloc’s annual €360 billion import-export imbalance, in their first joint statement on the relationship in seven years.

    EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič met Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Brussels on Monday, with both sides agreeing to open the consultations after weeks of threats and recriminations from Beijing over the prospect of EU measures to curb the flow of Chinese goods and components into Europe. “The EU and China as key trade partners, agree that the main objective of the TIC is to strengthen dialogue at ministerial level on trade and investment policies with the view to stabilise and make our bilateral relationship more balanced,” the two sides said in a joint statement, with the next meeting scheduled for October in Beijing.

    The talks come amid growing alarm in Brussels over what is now widely described as China Shock 2.0 — a threat to European industry and jobs extending well beyond electric vehicles and green technology. Eurostat reported on 15 June that Chinese exports to the EU now exceed imports from the bloc by approximately €1 billion per day. “We simply cannot afford to continue in the unsustainable growth of the trade deficit from the European perspective,” Šefčovič said. “We just didn’t want to wait too long. What is very important for us is engagement, it’s dialogue. But it has to bring tangible results, and we believe that we can achieve them by October.”

    Industry groups including the European Chambers of Commerce in China have warned that the scale of exports flowing into Europe risks “cannibalising” EU factories that remain heavily dependent on Chinese components.

    The consultations will cover four areas: rebalancing of trade and investment, export controls including those on rare earths, intellectual property rights, and World Trade Organization reforms. The two sides have also agreed to a joint monitoring mechanism extending beyond headline Eurostat and Chinese customs (GACC) figures, designed to identify sudden surges in exports or imports and trigger political discussions should either side move into an “amber or red” danger zone, according to Šefčovič.

    The European Commission has reportedly been mapping import and export data in fine detail over the past year, suggesting the three-month window will focus primarily on political dialogue rather than technical groundwork. The EU has adopted a cautious approach following the failure of its 2024 tariffs to meaningfully curb EV imports, with sources indicating quotas on hybrids and chemicals could be considered in the autumn.

  • EU Trade Chief Vows to Fight “Tooth and Nail” for European Jobs as China Threatens Retaliation Over Industrial Policy

    EU Trade Chief Vows to Fight “Tooth and Nail” for European Jobs as China Threatens Retaliation Over Industrial Policy

    The European Union will not retreat from its industrial sovereignty agenda despite Chinese threats of retaliation, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič has declared, issuing one of his most combative statements yet on the deteriorating state of EU-China trade relations.

    Speaking exclusively to Euronews, Šefčovič said the bloc would “always” defend the interests of its companies and workers. “We will fight tooth and nail for every European job, for every European company, for every open sector, if we see they are treated unfairly,” he said, responding to Beijing’s threat of countermeasures over the EU’s Industrial Acceleration Act and its Cybersecurity Act — two pieces of legislation China has accused of discriminating against its companies.

    Relations between Brussels and Beijing have deteriorated sharply over the past year. China has tightened export controls on rare earths vital to Europe’s clean technology and defence industries and restricted semiconductor chips essential to the automotive sector, intensifying pressure on already strained supply chains. In response, the EU has pressed ahead with legislation tightening market access for foreign companies and potentially restricting Chinese telecoms firms’ presence across the bloc — prompting Beijing to warn that the EU should not underestimate China’s “firm resolve” to safeguard its interests.

    Šefčovič rejected characterisations of the situation as a looming trade war but was unequivocal that Brussels would not operate under pressure. “We never threaten our partners, and we certainly don’t do it through the media,” he said. “What we need is strategic patience and a great deal of courage.” He noted that a trade conflict is easy to start but difficult to exit — a warning he appeared to direct as much at Beijing as at domestic audiences.

    At the heart of the EU’s grievances is a trade deficit with China that reached €359.3 billion in 2025 — a level Šefčovič described as “simply unsustainable” and one showing no signs of improvement despite repeated EU calls for rebalancing. Brussels is also growing increasingly concerned that Chinese exports being shut out of the US market by higher tariffs are being redirected toward Europe, compounding existing overcapacity concerns.

    Šefčovič said he had invited China’s foreign minister to Brussels for a comprehensive assessment of the current state of relations, stressing that what he wants is “constructive engagement” rather than escalation. He defended the EU’s industrial policy ambitions by pointing to equivalent frameworks elsewhere: “There are very strong industrial policies in China. You have the same in the US, in Canada, in Japan and in Korea. So nobody should be surprised if the European Union responds in kind.”