EU to remake supply chains away from China dependence as Beijing is "increasingly weaponizing economic ties for political gains"
EU to remake supply chains away from China dependence as Beijing is "increasingly weaponizing economic ties for political gains"
The EU has announced a €3 billion ($3.52 billion) strategy to reduce its dependency on critical raw materials and other goods from China, citing the nation’s “weaponization” of supplies.
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EU industry commissioner Stéphane Séjourné said the trading bloc is considering legally forcing industries to reduce purchases from China in order to insulate Europe from future hostile acts.
The Commission's newly unveiled ReSourceEU program seeks to de-risk and diversify the bloc’s supply chains by introducing new rules to stop scrap aluminum leaving the bloc, recycling of magnets used in car batteries and a new €2 billion-per-year fund backed by the European Investment Bank to support industries diversifying away from cheap Chinese supplies.
Séjourné said that, if European industry did not respond, the commission reserved the right to introduce legislation.
“We would force European companies legally to diversify their sources of supply. That is not the case now, and it is not what is proposed in the plan [ReSourceEU], but this is a wakeup call, a strong wakeup call,” said Séjourné.
The EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said Brussels remained committed to the concept of open access to its markets but that was repeatedly “fire-fighting” a succession of crises, including the disruption to the car industry caused by the recent, now lifted, ban on exports of chips by China in response to the Dutch government taking control of the Chinese-owned chip firm Nexperia.
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Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also warned that China is increasingly weaponizing economic ties for political gains.