Based on Taiwan's Liberty Times and Reuters, the EU wants to broaden critical-minerals cooperation with Vietnam, which holds tungsten, antimony and rare earths, to hedge against Chinese supply disruption. A Vietnamese leader's visit to Brussels as early as next week has been reported but not officially announced.
Liberty Times, citing Reuters, reported that the European Commission is assessing expanded cooperation with Vietnam on critical raw materials. The basis is internal EU documents obtained by Reuters, including an unpublished June report by the EU delegation in Hanoi. A Commission spokesperson said only that it is evaluating the potential for cooperation with Vietnam in this area.
광고 문의 · 300×250What the documents point to
The documents recommend that the EU support Vietnamese mining and processing to sustain and expand supplies of tungsten, bismuth, antimony and titanium. Vietnam also has rare earths and bauxite, from which gallium can be extracted as a by-product. These materials are widely used in defense and industry.
Vietnam's current critical-mineral exports to the EU are mainly tungsten and antimony, both used in defense products such as ammunition and explosives. The Epoch Times noted that Vietnam is not among the EU's 16 strategic raw-material partners. Support tools floated in the documents include loans, grants, technical assistance and export credit insurance.
The China factor and what comes next
The documents say China's export restrictions introduced last year disrupted European supply chains and that alternatives outside China are needed; China is the world's largest producer of critical minerals. Beijing's official position on this report did not appear in the coverage reviewed and is unconfirmed; China has previously described its export controls as legitimate measures for national security and non-proliferation.
The timing is notable. Sources said Vietnam's leader To Lam may visit Brussels next week and meet EU leaders on the 22nd, though the trip has not been formally announced. Separately, per the Epoch Times, EU leaders were due to discuss on the 15th how to respond to a surge of cheap Chinese goods; the EU's deficit with China was 360 billion euros in 2025 and already 200 billion in the first half of this year. Whether diversification becomes a concrete agreement will depend on the visit's outcome and on Vietnam's mining and processing capacity and environmental standards.
