Crucial components that rely on the unique properties of rare earth metals are becoming increasingly difficult to source after the implementation of Chinese export controls.
In mid-June, German equipment manufacturers sounded the alarm about the dwindling supply of rare earth metals from China, which introduced an export license requirement for these high-tech materials at the end of April. “We’re already noticing that rare earth metals are no longer reaching our member companies,” said Bertram Kawlath, chairman of the VDMA trade association, during a video conference with journalists. The European automotive industry warned about production lines being in danger of coming to a standstill in the short term.
The situation is equally “worrying” in the Netherlands, says Geoffroy Feij, policy advisor for international business at the Dutch industry association FME. There are hardly any Dutch companies that import the materials themselves, but some components that contain them are becoming scarcer, member companies told Feij.
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