【Wen/Observer Net, Xiong Chaoran】After President Trump returned to the White House, US-EU relations have experienced turbulence. However, seeing China's strong dominance in the field of critical minerals, this anxious transatlantic partner is once again thinking of "huddling for warmth".

On March 11 local time, the European edition of the U.S. website "Politico" (POLITICO EU) reported that in order to get rid of the so-called "dependence on China" in the field of critical minerals, the EU and the U.S. are approaching an agreement, but this agreement may deepen a "non-equivalent partnership" led by the U.S.

Over the past decade, the EU has been busy, but only came up with some goals, roadmaps, and symbolic cooperation intentions. However, in terms of ensuring the supply of key raw materials required for various products, there have been few substantial results. In contrast, the Trump administration launched a "deal frenzy", directly using real money to invest in projects around the world.

As Brussels is following Washington's steps, a proposed "Buyers Club" mechanism - which would set price floors to secure alternative sources - may turn into another mechanism: Europeans actually pay the money, but end up with Americans having priority access to critical minerals.

"In terms of securing the safety of raw material supplies, the U.S. takes much more aggressive measures," said Andreas Kroll, CEO of German rare earth trading company Noble Elements. Compared to the U.S., Europe is like "sitting at a children's table" (in a marginal and secondary position). He pointed out that due to dependence on external supplies, many European mid-sized enterprise customers are wondering, "Should we move our production bases to the U.S.?"

Tobias Gehrke, senior policy researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), believes that although cooperation with the U.S. is a better choice for Europe, the EU should not have any illusions. "The 'America First' principle also applies to the mineral sector," he said. "The U.S. will take all assets for itself, while Europe doesn't have enough money to compete."

On February 4, 2026, in Washington D.C., the U.S. held its first ministerial meeting on critical minerals, chaired by Secretary of State Rubio. IC Photo

US-EU Still "Talking on Paper"

According to reports, since U.S. Secretary of State Rubio hosted a high-level ministerial meeting on February 4 in Washington and launched an initiative involving over 50 countries to form a critical mineral alliance, the U.S. and the EU have been in negotiations.

At the meeting, Rubio exaggerated and claimed that these mineral resources were "concentrated in the hands of one country" and had become "a pawn in geopolitical games," implying China in an indirect way.

POLITICO EU mentioned that in October last year, China used export controls on critical minerals as a countermeasure, forcing Trump to make concessions on implementing a large-scale tariff plan.

Meanwhile, during the visit of the European Commission Vice President and Commissioner for Industrial Strategy, Stéphane Séjourné, to Washington, both sides announced that they would sign a memorandum of understanding on critical raw materials within 30 days, claiming that through cooperation, they could avoid price surges caused by mutual bidding, and create a larger and more secure market for non-Chinese suppliers.

However, to date, the U.S. and the EU have not formally reached an agreement, and the European Commission spokesperson Siobhan McGarry stated that "substantial progress has been made in the relevant consultations."

The U.S. Trade Representative Greer revealed at a meeting last month that the U.S. is considering teaming up with so-called "friendly countries" to set a "price floor" for critical minerals, trying to target Chinese companies.

An unnamed EU Commission official said that the EU is indeed studying this plan, but emphasized that any price floor measures must be carefully and precisely targeted, and regardless of anything, this issue does not fall within the scope of the aforementioned memorandum of understanding.

The EU found it difficult to compete with the U.S. ...

POLITICO EU stated that there are fundamental differences between the EU and the U.S. in dealing with critical minerals: Brussels tends to establish a legal framework and develop long-term plans, while Washington prefers to directly "spend money" and intervene in the market.

The EU has set a goal to achieve 10% local mining, 40% processing, and 25% recycling of its strategic raw material annual consumption by 2030. In October last year, the EU announced the establishment of the European Critical Raw Materials Center for procurement and storage of minerals, and provided 3 billion euros in funding for mining projects. The EU also signed strategic partnerships with 15 countries to open up mineral development channels for European mining companies.

In contrast, the U.S. took more direct and unambiguous measures.

At the end of last year, Séjourné had planned to fly to Brazil to sign a memorandum of understanding on rare earths. But just three days before departure, he found that he was already too late. He told the Dutch newspaper NRC that the U.S. had already reached an agreement with a local mining company and bought up its entire output until 2030.

The European Commission did not confirm the identity of the mining company mentioned by Séjourné, but the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation previously announced that it would provide 565 million dollars in financing for the expansion of the Pela Ema rare earth mine of the Brazilian Serra Verde Group.

This is just one example among a series of similar deals.

In October last year, the U.S. Export-Import Bank announced that it might invest 2.2 billion dollars in an Australian critical mineral project. In November, U.S. company Cove Capital formed a joint venture with the Kazakh state-owned mining company Tau-Ken Samruk to develop tungsten mines, which also received U.S. government support.

Subsequently, the Congolese state-owned mining company Gécamines also stated that, according to the mineral partnership agreement signed between the two countries, it would transport 100,000 tons of copper to the U.S. market.

Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, said in an interview with POLITICO EU after attending the Munich Security Conference that she welcomed Europe's participation in the country's resource development, but Europe had not yet fully participated so far. She added that the EU "is still behind the U.S. and China."

Serra Verde Group's mining facility in Minas Gerais, Brazil, photo

The Key Is to Put Real Money on the Table

The report points out that there is currently a gap in funding between the U.S. and the EU - the U.S. government's $1.2 billion critical mineral reserve program far exceeds the EU's 3 billion euro plan.

Stefan Müller, CEO of DGWA, a commodity-focused investment consulting company based in Frankfurt, Germany, said: "The Americans are moving forward at a speed they know other countries cannot match. We have to ask ourselves who really has the say in such a partnership."

A recent report by the European Court of Auditors found that the EU's efforts to diversify its imports of critical raw materials "have not yet produced substantial results."

McGarry, the spokesperson for the European Commission, defended the EU's progress, saying that the EU has signed 15 memorandums of understanding with international partners. In addition, Brussels has listed 67 mining projects as strategic projects, allowing them to receive faster approvals and institutional support.

Hildegard Bentele, a German member of the European Parliament from the center-right, said that the U.S. "has significantly accelerated the pace" and "showed its seriousness." In contrast, the EU's strategy of relying on inter-state negotiations has not yielded results in actual projects.

This European Parliament member, who led the European Parliament's strategic report on critical raw materials, said, "If we don't put money on the table, the Americans will no longer take us seriously." She pointed out that there was a proposal to allocate 5 to 10 billion euros for critical minerals in the next EU budget, calling it "a major step forward."

However, POLITICO EU stated that given the speed of the U.S. and the fact that the next EU budget will start in 2028, Europeans still need to find funds to bridge this gap.

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7616553951021859374/

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