Rare earths: Dependence on China is slowly decreasing

According to preliminary figures, the German economy imported around 5500 tonnes of rare earths worth 77.6 million euros last year. According to a statement from the Federal Statistical Office, this corresponds to an increase of around five percent compared to the previous year. The share of Chinese imports has decreased from 65 percent in the previous year to 55 percent now.

Rare earths such as neodymium, dysprosium, and terbium are indispensable for German industry. The metals are urgently needed for the construction of wind turbines, the production of automotive catalysts, and the production of special optical glasses, among other things. Since the mining of these metals hardly takes place in Germany and the rest of the European Union, the economy here is heavily dependent on imports.

A quarter of EU imports from Russia

As in the previous year, Austria and Estonia follow in second and third place in the German import statistics. However, the current figures do not come close to historical highs: in 2018, 9700 tonnes of rare earths were imported. That is 76 percent more than in 2025.

According to Eurostat, a total of 15,100 tonnes of rare earths were imported into the European Union in 2025. Here too, China is the main supplier with 47 percent, followed by Russia (26 percent) and Malaysia (23 percent).

The dependency is even greater for certain materials: 97 percent of the lanthanum compounds imported into the EU come directly from the People's Republic. In Germany, the raw material is mainly used for automotive catalysts, high-quality camera lenses, and in gasoline production.

Dependence on China remains

Although the share of rare earth imports from China has slightly decreased, the dependence remains high. The EU Parliament is therefore pushing for stronger efforts to make the European resource supply more autonomous, as China uses its market-dominating position as a “weapon.” The MEPs therefore demand the mining of rare earths on their territory as well as strategic partnerships with third countries.

In October last year, China tightened export controls on rare earths. Although these were later initially suspended, the move caused great uncertainty in the European economy. The European Chamber of Commerce in China therefore also recently warned of the economic consequences of dependence on China. The Chinese government could inflict “unprecedented damage” on the European economy through its export control system if it wished.

Other countries are also taking measures to reduce their dependence on China. The United States under President Donald Trump, for example, are working on raw material reserves to secure themselves against bottlenecks and price fluctuations in rare earths. Trump also used the situation in Ukraine, shaped by the Russian war of aggression, to conclude a lucrative agreement with the country for its mineral resources. Meanwhile, Japan hopes to be able to mine rare earths on its own sovereign territory from 2027 and is currently investigating the deep sea for this purpose.

However, it can take decades until such deposits are processed and usable. Decades can pass. The question of whether they can be economically mined in the first place is also often open, as the example of Ukraine shows.

(mma)