EU, China Launch Trade Talks, Export Controls on Agenda

Emanuel Ghebregergis spoke to Dow Jones Risk Journal about the implications of the ministerial-level talks between the European Union and China to discuss streamlining export controls amid warnings from EU policymakers that a widening trade imbalance between the two jurisdictions was becoming untenable.

Emanuel told the Risk Journal that the consultations were “a positive development overall, particularly against a backdrop of rising trade tensions.” He cautioned that companies should still take a wait-and-see attitude. “It remains unclear how, and to what extent, these commitments will be implemented in practice,” the Emanuel said, adding that greater clarity may emerge following the expected follow-up meeting in October.

On rare earth licenses specifically, Emanuel said meaningful progress would require “faster and more predictable processing timelines,” noting that while EU companies had generally been able to obtain licenses in practice, “the process can be slow, opaque, and unpredictable, creating supply chain uncertainty.”