EU and US Sign Critical Minerals Agreement to Reduce Dependence on China

(CNA Washington 24th, AFP) Amid growing concerns over China's dominance in the critical minerals sector, the European Union (EU) and the United States signed an agreement today to coordinate and supply vital minerals required for critical industries such as defense.

The agreement represents a rare affirmation of the EU's role by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has frequently criticized the bloc and shifted support toward right-wing populist forces in Europe.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic signed the Memorandum of Understanding. Rubio stated, 'The risk of these resources being overly concentrated and dominated by one or two regions is unacceptable.'

Sefcovic noted in a separate press conference that the agreement 'formalizes our cooperation across the entire value chain, from exploration and mining to processing, refining, recycling, and reuse.'

Regarding potential retaliation from China, Sefcovic emphasized, 'For us, this is truly a matter of economic security and a lesson in moving away from dependency.' He added that recent experiences with fossil fuel dependency have shown that the cost of such reliance can be extremely high. 'We simply want to learn from those experiences and build a more diversified portfolio of supply sources.'

Rubio pointed out that the US and EU together are the 'largest consumers and users of critical minerals.' 'We must ensure these supplies and minerals can support our future and not be monopolized or overly concentrated in a single region.'