The EU has also entered the race for South American minerals - just beating the US and China

[Judi Lynn]

© Pexels/Vlad Chețan

The European Union has 34 so-called critical raw materials, which are important components of production. The vast majority of these have to be imported, which is why Brussels is paying increasing attention to South America, where 24 of the raw materials are found. The problem is that someone else has thought of this.

Laszlo Arato – EUrologus

Published On: March 11th, 2025

© Pexels/Vlad Chețan

There is a huge race for so-called critical raw materials in the world. These are the materials that are essential for modern industry, car manufacturing, mass communications, weaponry and many other areas. As such, they are also a crucial factor for competitiveness, as highlighted in both the Letta report on the future of the single market and the Draghi report on the future of European competitiveness, and the EU has already adopted legislation to ensure the supply of critical raw materials (CRM). This means tapping into existing European stocks and diversifying sources of supply.

However, this is also difficult because a large part of the raw materials can be extracted in China. For example, 97 per cent of magnesium and 71 per cent of gallium come from Asia, but even these have a higher dependence of 100 per cent for heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) and a similar exposure of 85 per cent for light rare earth elements (LREEs).

In this struggle, the EU’s attention is turning to South America. Where, unsurprisingly, European negotiators are bumping up against Chinese ambitions at every turn. In 2023, the EU signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Argentina and Chile on sustainable commodity value chains. In November 2024, the Interim Trade Agreement with Chile was ratified – the first EU trade agreement to include a separate chapter on energy and raw materials. As the Mercosur countries, especially Argentina and Brazil, are the main producers of CRM, this agreement will greatly help the EU to ensure an efficient, reliable and sustainable flow of critical raw materials.

According to a study by the European Parliament’s research service, France produces 76% of the hafnium used in the EU, Belgium 59% of the arsenic, Finland 38% of the nickel and Spain 31% of the strontium. However, 25 of the 34 critical raw materials on the EU list are produced in Latin America.

More:
https://www.europeandatajournalism.eu/cp_data_news/the-eu-has-also-entered-the-race-for-south-american-minerals-just-beating-the-us-and-china/