The European Union (EU) has belatedly joined the rush for rare earth minerals in Latin America, months after the United States began working on a deal with Brazil.

EU officials fumbled for diplomatic language to express their desire to become less dependent on China, which controls about 60 percent of the supply and 90 percent of the refining capacity for the valuable minerals. China aggressively uses its dominant position in the market for political leverage, threatening to choke off supplies to countries that displease Beijing, and it manipulates prices to prevent free-market competitors from breaking its grip on the rare earth supply chain.

“We want to limit our risks if it comes to a major conflict between China and the U.S.,” explained Stephane Sejourne, Euro

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