>Europe has encountered serious vulnerabilities in its supply chains over the past year on a number of fronts. The EU was caught flat-footed in the coronavirus vaccination race and had to take contentious measures to limit exports and keep jabs in the bloc. That crisis only compounded existing worries about dependence on Asia for critical imports ranging from face masks to microchips.
>In particular, the European Union worries that 98 percent of the rare earth metals that it needs in a host of industrial applications come from China. A shortage of magnesium from China has also become a major headache for producers of cars, planes and electronics.
So they are just up for taking private companies goods from them ?
I’m not sure how this should work on National level , EU proved with covid crisis that each country is on its own and many rules and polices of European unity were forgotten.
It’s certainly true the EU needs to do this, to let businesses know not to setup in the EU if they are a global supplier, without having other countries already secured.
Since the EU had its pandemic export ban, Pfizer and other large pharmaceuticals opened up facilities outside of the EU, where they otherwise would not.
Some 15 years ago we had magnesium production facilities all over the country. Central Europe literally sits on dolomite after all. Now after all EU directives and regulations we have NONE.
While I agree we should have some state owned production of strategic materials, especially to be protected of thugs like China, I’m not convinced EU is the body I’d be comfortable with.
>In particular, the European Union worries that 98 percent of the rare earth metals that it needs in a host of industrial applications come from China. A shortage of magnesium from China has also become a major headache for producers of cars, planes and electronics.
They gonna start digging this in France or? Even if there are any left in Europe, good luck building a mine with any “Green” organization in a 200 kilometer radius.
There is no shortage of REM’s in many places all over the world it was just that China was just cheaper than everyone else at producing them for a long time. Both the US and Australia produced large amounts of dolomite, magnesite and brucite up until the 90’s but the mines could not compete.
You should secure supplies up front, not afterwards when the crisis has already broken out.
May these crisises be the event that transforms the EU to an ineffective version of the Confederacy (pre constitution US states) to a real world Federal state that can actually stand up for itself.
9 comments
Excerpt:
>Europe has encountered serious vulnerabilities in its supply chains over the past year on a number of fronts. The EU was caught flat-footed in the coronavirus vaccination race and had to take contentious measures to limit exports and keep jabs in the bloc. That crisis only compounded existing worries about dependence on Asia for critical imports ranging from face masks to microchips.
>In particular, the European Union worries that 98 percent of the rare earth metals that it needs in a host of industrial applications come from China. A shortage of magnesium from China has also become a major headache for producers of cars, planes and electronics.
So they are just up for taking private companies goods from them ?
I’m not sure how this should work on National level , EU proved with covid crisis that each country is on its own and many rules and polices of European unity were forgotten.
It’s certainly true the EU needs to do this, to let businesses know not to setup in the EU if they are a global supplier, without having other countries already secured.
Since the EU had its pandemic export ban, Pfizer and other large pharmaceuticals opened up facilities outside of the EU, where they otherwise would not.
Some 15 years ago we had magnesium production facilities all over the country. Central Europe literally sits on dolomite after all. Now after all EU directives and regulations we have NONE.
While I agree we should have some state owned production of strategic materials, especially to be protected of thugs like China, I’m not convinced EU is the body I’d be comfortable with.
>In particular, the European Union worries that 98 percent of the rare earth metals that it needs in a host of industrial applications come from China. A shortage of magnesium from China has also become a major headache for producers of cars, planes and electronics.
They gonna start digging this in France or? Even if there are any left in Europe, good luck building a mine with any “Green” organization in a 200 kilometer radius.
There is no shortage of REM’s in many places all over the world it was just that China was just cheaper than everyone else at producing them for a long time. Both the US and Australia produced large amounts of dolomite, magnesite and brucite up until the 90’s but the mines could not compete.
You should secure supplies up front, not afterwards when the crisis has already broken out.
May these crisises be the event that transforms the EU to an ineffective version of the Confederacy (pre constitution US states) to a real world Federal state that can actually stand up for itself.