Switzerland should not snub this crucial issue

China is the world leader in the rare land market and uses this position as a formidable weapon in the customs war between it in the United States. Only Switzerland seems to have not yet understood how much these critical raw materials are very disputed.

Othmar von Matt / CH Media

The current geopolitical situation is characterized by a strategic struggle for rare earths. It is in order to control these precious materials that Donald Trump would like to annex Greenland and Canada. For his part, The Swiss Parliament asks the Federal Council to react to this delicate situation.

Why rare earths are important

Rare earths are necessary to the manufacture of smartphones, electric cars or drones.

This generic term brings together 17 chemical elements, such as neodymium, presodym, cerium or dysprosium. These are critical raw materials which are certainly present in large quantities in the earth’s crust, but whose extraction has large profitability questions due to induced costs and high environmental damage.

In the era of digitization, rare earths therefore constitute a strategic asset.

The great powers bicker

Donald Trump openly eyeing critical raw materials and rare earths in many regions. At the end of April, he signed an agreement on raw materials with Ukraine. And in eastern Congo, the United States has negotiated a peace agreement between Congo-Kinshasa and Rwanda. They want to ensure access to the deposits of raw materials.

Vladimir Putin also became aware of the importance of critical raw materials. He wishes to exploit the national deposits of rare earths, lithium and other essential raw materials.

China is by far the world leader in the market. It controls a considerable part of global reserves, production and processing. Beijing uses its dominant position like a great weapon in the trade war with the United States And decreed a global export embargo. Seven materials essential to the American high-tech industry can now leave the country only with export licenses.

Why the Federal Council does not want to act

At the end of 2024, the Federal Council published a report on raw materials. Surprisingly, he hardly sees any need to act. He writes that significant developments have certainly taken place at the international level-the EU, the United States and other countries have taken measures to guarantee their needs in raw materials. Switzerland follows “carefully” the evolution of the situation.

The Federal Council considers, however, that companies have a role to play: They would themselves be responsible for obtaining supplies in magnets containing rare earth in sufficient quantity.

It should be noted that Switzerland concluded the revision of the free trade agreement established twenty years ago with Chile without taking into account raw materials or rare land. And this, despite the fact that Chile has significant lithium and copper deposits.

Parliament Press The Federal Council

But parliament now pressure on the Federal Council. In July, the National Policy Commission of the National Council unanimously adopted a motion filed by the national councilor Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter. This requests that the Federal Council negotiates in a “restrictive” security of strategically important raw materials during the negotiation and modernization of free trade agreements.

The European Union, Japan or South Korea have already started to systematically integrate chapters devoted to raw materials in their trade agreements, explains Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter, justifying the motion. And add:

The foreign policy committee took a first step in this direction a year ago, By modernizing the free trade agreement with China. She asked the Federal Council to approach the risks linked to critical and strategic raw materials from China.

The reaction Federal Council

“The geopolitical intensification of the fight for critical raw materials is obvious”estimates the national councilor. This is why the Federal Council has now integrated this issue into its negotiation mandate with China.

Currently, the State Secretariat for Economy is developing a list of countries with which it wishes to conclude special agreements for closer cooperation in the field of raw materials. Chile is one of these countriesconfirms the State Secretariat for the Economy.

Translated and adapted from German by Léa Krejci

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