EU must reduce its rare earth reliance on China, says EU's Sejourne

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The diversification of supply of raw materials is important to stay independent in the future, EU Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stephane Sejourne said on Wednesday, adding that the EU should reduce its dependency on China regarding rare earth magnets.

"We must reduce our dependencies on all countries, particularly on a number of countries like China, on which we are more than 100% dependent (...) The export bans increase our will to diversify," Sejourne during a press conference.

China decided in April to impose export curbs on rare earth magnets until new licences are obtained, leaving diplomats, carmakers and other executives from Europe and elsewhere scrambling to secure meetings with Beijing officials and avert factory shutdowns.

China controls more than 90% of global processing capacity for the magnets, used in everything from vehicles and fighter jets to home appliances.

(Reporting by Yun Chee Foo, Writing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)