The EU needs to take bolder, more aggressive action to secure critical minerals and could follow the US in pursuing interventionist policy to achieve that goal, delegates heard this week at the Antimony Day in Brussels.
The US is deploying aggressive strategies to secure critical minerals, driven by national security concerns and a need to reduce reliance on China. These measures include using the Defense Production Act for funding, establishing price floors to de-risk domestic markets and acquiring stakes in foreign mineral companies.
These developments from the US should serve as a wake-up call for EU policy makers, panellists noted.
"The EU needs to ensure that truly strategic projects receive financing quickly," European Initiative for Energy Security executive director Alberic Mongrenier said. To achieve this, he urged the EU to repurpose existing public funds.
The EU should start negotiating offtake agreements with metals producers, Mongrenier said. The US has already secured long-term deals with companies such as Critical Metals and Ucore Rare Metals for rare earths from Greenland and Canada.
Panellists noted that the EU could consider taking equity stakes in companies, mirroring the US approach. The EU could also introduce mandates that require companies to source materials from key strategic projects, both upstream and midstream. This would be particularly significant for defence, but it could also apply to other sectors, including automotive, panellists said.
The EU is not ruling this out, delegates told Argus, but it is a delicate topic.
"Measures like price floors, mandatory sourcing and offtake agreements are not off the table," European Commission deputy director-general of trade Denis Redonnet said. "That is a complicated decision because it requires intervening in the functioning of free markets."
"But we have to think more transactionally, be more tactical, and have a unified strategy," he added.
Brussels is developing the EU Resource Plan, an initiative to identify alternative sources for critical minerals. This will address many of these challenges and provide long-term solutions, Redonnet said. The proposal is being finalised and will be discussed by the commission for approval in December.
By Cristina Belda
