Japan, EU agree to deepen economic security cooperation
BRUSSELS (Kyodo) -- Japan and the European Union on Wednesday agreed to boost cooperation on economic security issues, including strengthening supply chains for critical minerals.
Japanese economic security minister Minoru Kiuchi and EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic affirmed the importance of diversifying sources of minerals critical to electric vehicles and semiconductors, among other vital goods, during the first meeting between Japanese and European economic security chiefs.
"We must not heavily depend on a certain country" concerning supply chains for critical minerals, Kiuchi told a press conference after their talks in Brussels.
Currently, China is a dominant player in the global production and refining of many critical minerals.
Kiuchi and Sefcovic touched on the tariff policies of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration in the meeting, but Kiuchi did not elaborate.
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