EU–Vietnam Critical Minerals Cooperation Targets Supply-Chain Resilience

EU Pursues Vietnam Mineral Ties to Reduce Dependence on Chinese Critical Minerals 

HANOI, Vietnam — October 14, 2026 — The European Union is actively seeking to deepen cooperation with Vietnam on critical minerals including tungsten, rare earths, antimony, and bismuth as internal EU documents reveal growing concern over supply chain concentration and the bloc's heavy reliance on Chinese sources. The development carries significant implications for the global Critical Minerals and Rare Earths Market, valued at USD 401.2 billion in 2026 and projected to reach USD 943.7 billion by 2035, expanding at a 9.97% CAGR. 

According to internal EU documents dated June 2026 and prepared by the EU delegation in Hanoi  seen exclusively by Reuters the bloc cannot afford to overlook Vietnam as a potential supplier of critical raw materials, given the country's substantial reserves of rare earths and tungsten in particular. The documents recommend financial support for Vietnam's mining and processing industry to "maintain and expand current access notably to tungsten, bismuth, antimony and titanium." 

The push comes as EU leaders prepare to discuss plans to reduce reliance on Chinese goods and raw materials at this week's European Council. Vietnamese leader To Lam is expected to visit Brussels on October 22 for meetings with EU leadership, with critical minerals expected to feature prominently in the agenda, according to four European and Vietnamese officials cited in the Reuters report. 

The EU documents explicitly state that stronger engagement with Vietnam is needed to "add an alternative to China," the world's top producer of critical minerals, particularly following Beijing's export restrictions last year that "disrupted European supply chains." Vietnam is not currently among the EU's 16 strategic partners on raw minerals, underscoring the significance of the proposed elevation in bilateral ties. 

Key Highlights: 

• Defence-critical minerals at stake: Vietnam currently exports tungsten and antimony to the EU both used in the defence sector, including in ammunition and explosives with the EU seeking to expand this supply relationship to include rare earths, bismuth, and bauxite-derived gallium. 

• Proposed financial instruments: The EU documents recommend loans, grants, technical assistance, and export-credit insurance to support critical mineral projects in Vietnam, including resource mapping initiatives. 

• Supply competition intensifying: A failed plan involving entities from Australia, the US, and Canada to acquire a majority stake in Vietnam's largest tungsten operation owned by Masan High-Tech Materials is cited as a concrete supply risk to the EU, alongside a separate Lynas Rare Earths and LS Eco Energy rare earth metals project in Vietnam. 

• Risks acknowledged: The documents flag concerns including a lack of transparency regarding China's involvement in Vietnam's mineral sector, regulatory and political hurdles, and Vietnam's technology transfer requirements under its "economic nationalism" framework. 

Analyst Insight: 

According to analysts at Next Move Strategy Consulting, the EU's strategic outreach to Vietnam reflects a broader structural shift underway across the global critical minerals and rare earths market, where importing nations are accelerating bilateral supply partnerships to reduce dependence on concentrated Chinese processing capacity. NMSC analysts note that China's export control expansions which have directly disrupted European supply chains are estimated to restrain the global market's CAGR by approximately 2.1 percentage points through 2030, making alternative sourcing partnerships with mineral-rich nations such as Vietnam an increasingly urgent policy priority for the EU. The Defence and Aerospace application segment, which relies heavily on tungsten and rare earth magnets, is the fastest-growing end-use category in the market, registering a 14.6% CAGR from 2026 to 2035 a trajectory that further elevates the strategic importance of securing non-Chinese mineral supply corridors. 

Industry Outlook: 

The EU's pursuit of closer mineral ties with Vietnam marks a consequential step in the bloc's broader de-risking strategy, arriving at a moment when the global critical minerals and rare earths market is undergoing its most significant supply chain restructuring in decades. With the market forecast to expand from USD 401.2 billion in 2026 to USD 943.7 billion by 2035, the geopolitical contest for access to mineral-rich nations is expected to intensify across all major importing economies. 

Vietnam's substantial reserves of rare earths, tungsten, antimony, and bismuth position it as a strategically valuable partner for the EU provided that regulatory, transparency, and investment protection challenges can be resolved. The outcome of Vietnamese leader To Lam's anticipated October 22 visit to Brussels is likely to determine the pace and scope of formal cooperation, with the EU Commission confirming it is "currently assessing the potential for concrete cooperation with Vietnam in the critical raw materials sector." Whether Vietnam is elevated to the EU's strategic partner list on raw minerals will be a key indicator of how rapidly the bloc can operationalize its supply chain diversification agenda. 

Source: Reuters

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Prepared By: Sanyukta Deb