Switzerland is poorly prepared for Chinese Rare Land retention

Monday 05th May 2025 02:40 AM

In the trade war to which the United States and China are engaged in, Beijing has chosen to hit hard: restricting the export of six rare land, essential in civil and military technologies. A decision which allows him at the same time to meet internal military needs, and to set up geopolitical levers.

This retention will have strong repercussions for the European continent, including Switzerland, are worried this Monday theAargauer Zeitungthe Luzerner Zeitung and the St. Galler Tagblatt. Not that the country directly imports these metals; On the other hand, it brought in no less than 174 tonnes of refined products which contain it, mainly from the European Union.

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“We endanger our security of supply”

Thus, hundreds of Swiss companies should be affected by the export ban on China, according to Jean-Philippe Kohl, vice-director of Swissmem, the association of the machinery, electrical equipment and metals. This fears short and medium term disturbances.

The federal councilor Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter is no less critical: “There is a global political struggle around rare earths, only Switzerland considers that there is no need to act. We thus put ourselves offside and endanger our security of supply ”. It was she who had requested in 2020, then advisor to the States of the Jura, the Federal Council for a report on the issue, underline the newspapers of the Az Midian group.

Published in December 2024, the document on “the supply of minerals and metals essential to the energy transition” is free from any shortage scenario. An incomprehensible gap in the eyes of the scheme concerned, given the geopolitical uncertainties and the electoral promises of the American president. On the contrary, this is a problem taken seriously, retorts the State Secretariat for the Economy.

Federal advisor Ignazio Cassis went a few weeks ago to China a few weeks ago. As for the measures envisaged by Seco, the newspapers provide an overview: greater transparency in the sector, and a collaboration between the institutions concerned which must be reinforced.