Resolution on tackling China's critical raw materials export restrictions
The European Parliament adopted by 523 votes to 75, with 14 abstentions, a resolution on tackling China’s critical raw materials export restrictions.
The text adopted in plenary was tabled by the EPP, S&D, ECR, Renew and Green/EFA groups.
Critical raw materials are essential inputs for a wide array of industrial products and processes, including in critical sectors such as clean technologies, digital technologies, healthcare and defence. A secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials is fundamental to achieving the Union’s climate, digital, competitiveness and defence objectives.
However, the EU remains overly reliant on non-EU countries for the supply of critical raw materials (CRMs) and is almost entirely dependent on China for the supply of heavy are earth elements (REEs). In April 2024, the EU adopted the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) as the starting point of efforts towards improving the resilience and autonomy of the EU’s supply of CRMs and strategic raw materials (SRMs).
Parliament strongly condemned China’s decision to enact REE export restrictions, which has halted exports and significantly disrupted supply chains vital for the automotive industry, defence manufacturers, semiconductor companies, green technologies, healthcare applications and many other sectors in the EU and across the world. It considered that China’s action is unjustified and has a coercive intent, building on the enormous leverage its quasi-monopolistic position on the global market provides. The EU must firmly reject any attempts by China to use these restrictions to force concessions on other ongoing trade irritants. Members stressed the urgent need for the EU to enhance its strategic leverage and indispensability by identifying, operationalising and strengthening areas in which it holds critical advantages over China in essential goods and technologies, with the objective of strengthening the EU’s strategic autonomy, or by limiting access to the EU internal market for high-risk Chinese vendors in accordance with EU and international trade law.
Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA)
Parliament urged the Commission and the Member States to accelerate the implementation of the CRMA and recalled the clear and ambitious targets set to reinforce EU capacities to extract, process and recycle SRMs domestically by 2030.
The Commission is urged to dedicate further EU-level support to the diversification of the REE and CRM supply, and to guarantee that the forthcoming multiannual financial framework will include a budget line to foster investment in extraction, processing, circularity, research and innovation, including for the substitution of CRMs.
In addition, the resolution stressed the need for the EU to mine domestically and for the Commission and Member States to assess the minimum level of strategic stocks of rare earth elements. It underlined that increasing the efficiency of resource use through technological innovation is one of the objectives of the CRMA.
Enhanced partnerships
The resolution called for stronger engagement to conclude clean trade and investment partnerships and bilateral strategic partnerships on raw materials that are based on true win-win partnerships and meet high sustainability and human rights standards. It insisted on the need to move towards binding agreements on CRMs to ensure the long-term security of the EU’s supplies, guarantee more transparency and ensure that Parliament has scrutiny powers. The importance of free trade agreements and the Global Gateway initiative in enhancing access to CRMs is underlined.