China's commerce minister has accepted an "urgent" invitation to Brussels, the EU's trade chief Maros Sefcovic said on Tuesday, as the bloc looks to unpick Beijing's restrictions on rare earth mineral exports and defuse a row over Dutch-based chipmaker Nexperia.

The European Union is working on trade options to counter China’s planned export controls on critical raw materials should the bloc fail to reach a diplomatic solution with Beijing.

The Trump administration is trying an array of unconventional measures to shore up U.S. rare earths supplies. It remains uncertain whether the strategy will work.

The EU's top economic official said the European Commission was considering countermeasures in response to Chinese curbs on rare earth exports, according to an interview with Handelsblatt published on Wednesday.

China released new interim measures Friday tightening controls on mining and processing of rare earths that are used in many high-tech products

The Trump administration is considering broad export controls on China, targeting products made with US software in response to Beijing’s recent rare earth export restrictions.

China's exports of rare earth magnets fell in September, reigniting fears that the world's top supplier could wield its dominance over a component key for U.S. defence firms and makers of items from cars to smartphones as leverage in trade talks.

Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves announced plans to explore rare earth mineral production at sites in Michigan and Minnesota amid China's export controls.

The company's Exeter, N.H. facility is already producing rare earths at a rate of 200 tons per year, and could be boosted to an output of 1,000 tons.

El presidente Donald Trump y el primer ministro australiano Anthony Albanese firmaron el lunes un acuerdo sobre minerales críticos en la Casa Blanca, mientras Estados Unidos pone su mirada en las tier