Yesterday, officials at the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) held a roundtable discussion on semiconductor supply chains with European and Chinese companies and trade associations, emphasizing the importance of cooperation amidst China's new export control rules and indicating a potential relaxation of restrictions for EU-linked supply chains.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced that it would be conducting a national security investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 related to imports of critical minerals and their derivative products.

China's Ministry of Commerce has signaled potential expansion of its export controls on strategic resources, a move that could escalate tensions in the ongoing tech trade war.

Last month, China announced a new regulation on rare earths, tightening control over the industry.

Australian concerns about Chinese investment in the mining sector are continuing, as Treasury Minister Jim Chalmers has stood in the way of another investment.

The European Parliament's Committee on International Trade (INTA) held a meeting on March 20 and 21, touching on issues related to EU-China relations, an EU-Taiwan trade agreement, and avoiding dependence on Chinese raw material processing.

In an announcement yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice described a federal indictment against individual persons and a company accused of sending export-controlled defense-related technical data to China and unlawfully supplying the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) with Chinese-origin rare earth magnets for aviation systems and military items.