In the world China is the biggest producer of world’s rare earth metals. These rare metals are not so hard to get but the process in refining them is hard and complicated. China controls more than 80 percent of the world’s rare earth metal production. From Lithium to Silicon, different countries depend on China for different purposes including day to day uses like running the electric cars, smart phones, technological devices, solar panels etc.
But now the EU has started to rethink their over dependence on China for the rare earth metals. The EU’s Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton’s said in the New Year Eve’s statement, signaling that Brussels aims to enact a
law to empower itself with emergency powers to secure its supplies, including rare earth metals. He also added “It’s not about producing everything in Europe, but securing the entire supply chain.”
Europe could not stop the import of rare metals from China because there is no backup plan yet implemented when they go short of the rare earth metals. The pandemic has already proven this fact. Though Europe does not have significant rare earth reserves like that of China, they can import from countries like Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, Tanzania, Greenland, and the United States instead of China. But the low priced products of China can’t be beaten by any of these countries because it will take years for those countries to reach China’s level.
