Mubasher: The European Union (EU) has no clear strategy on maintaining the flow of rare raw materials supplied by China, Reuters reported.

Worries were raised that such supplies could be used by China, the world’s biggest provider of rare earth minerals, as leverage in the crippling trade conflict with the US.

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom stated that the bloc’s executive arm started to discuss the issue thoroughly, but no clear plan was devised yet “because it’s only a threat.”

“This is something where we need to make sure we can still have access,” Malmstrom was quoted by Reuters.

Escalating tensions between the US and China have raised concerns that Beijing could have an advantage in the trade disputes between the world’s top economies as a supplier of rate earth materials.

Rare earths are a raft of 17 chemical elements utilised in making a wide array of products, ranging from smartphones and electric vehicle (EV) motors to essential military applications like jet engines, satellites and lasers.

Dependence on Chinese production of key materials was a “very complicated issue,” showing the pointlessness of trade conflicts.

It is worth noting that China, a home to 37% of world’s rare earths reserves, accounted for 80% of US rare imports.