On Friday 31 October, the Chinese authorities confirmed to the European Commission that the 12-month suspension of export controls imposed in October on rare earth technologies did indeed apply to the EU. There are still areas of uncertainty, however, as the Commission is not sure that the suspension also applies to the export controls on rare earths introduced by Beijing in April.
“We are continuing our dialogue with China to understand the terms and conditions”, reiterated Commission Trade spokesperson Olof Gill.
On 1 November, Washington announced that all export restrictions on rare earths, as well as gallium and germanium, had been lifted, as China will grant general licences for these exports to the United States.
Last week, officials from the Commission and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs agreed to continue discussions on measures to facilitate the granting of export licences, including general licences. However, Friday’s high-level meeting between the Commission and China did not result in the granting of a general licence for exports to the EU. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)