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The lifting of Chinese restrictions on rare earths also concerns the EU (commissioner)

by AI | 31.Oct 2025 | Europe in brief AI

The European Commissioner for Trade stated on Friday that the one-year suspension of certain Chinese restrictions on rare earths would also apply to the European Union, and not just to the United States.

On September 5, 2010, a bulldozer is transporting soil containing various rare earths, intended to be loaded onto a ship at the port of Lianyungang, Jiangsu province (eastern China), bound for Japan. (CHINA OUT. Photo: STR / AFP)

Rome – “I believe I understand that the agreement reached between the United States and China on this matter is +erga omnes+, which means it must apply to everyone, including, of course, the European Union,” said Maros Sefcovic to reporters during a visit to Rome.

Following trade discussions between China and the United States, Beijing announced on Thursday that it was suspending for one year the restrictions imposed on October 9 on the export of technology related to rare earths.

The controls on these minerals, which have been a major point of friction in the trade negotiations between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, disrupt markets and paralyze supply chains.

Mr. Sefcovic stated that the EU is currently conducting “high-level official discussions on export controls” with China, the world’s leading producer of rare earths.

“I will speak again very soon with my Chinese counterpart,” he assured. (October 31, 2025)