EU to unveil €3bn strategy to reduce dependency on China for raw materials

The EU is to unveil a €3bn (£2.63bn) strategy to reduce its dependency on China for critical raw materials amid a global scramble triggered by Beijing’s “weaponisation” of supplies of everything from chips to rare earths. The ReSourceEU programme will seek to de-risk and diversify the bloc’s supply chains for key commodities with a funding initiative to support 25-30 strategic projects in the sector. These projects cover rare earths – a group of 17 heavy metals that are actually abundant but difficult and costly to extract – as well as the elements gallium, germanium and lithium, used in batteries for…