Breaking free from China’s dominance of rare earths will not be a simple feat for the European Union, even though both sides reached a tentative deal to ease Beijing’s limitations on their exports. Considered one of the few breakthroughs of the 24 July summit in Beijing, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced an “upgraded export supply mechanism” that will “immediately check and solve problems or issues if there are bottlenecks”. Beijing’s ironclad restrictions, introduced in early April against the backdrop of escalating tensions with the United States, triggered alarm across Europe, as rare earths are ... (full story)