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Conference Agenda

Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).

Please note that all times are shown in the time zone of the conference. The current conference time is: 24th Aug 2026, 01:51:53am WEST

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Daily Overview

Session

Egg-Timer: Trade and Climate Policy
Location: D-112
Session Chair: Renfang Tian, King's University College at Western University

Presentation 3

How Geopolitical Risk Shapes Rare Earth Trade: A European Perspective on Strategic Vulnerabilities

Fieseler Tobias, Erik Hille, Wilhelm Althammer

HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Germany

Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are essential for modern technology and clean energy systems. They are critical in high-tech products, in renewable energy technology, and in advanced military applications. The applications of REEs align directly with the strategic objectives of the European Union, which include enhancing competitiveness and innovation, advancing the transition toward climate neutral Europe, and strengthening defense. Currently, European countries are highly dependent on a small number of countries for their REE supply, which explains the aim to secure and diversify critical mineral supply chains. Focusing on Europe, we analyze whether net-imports of REEs were reduced in the past because of increased geopolitical risks (GPR) in supplier countries. For this purpose, we adopt an aggregate GPR measure which combines information on GPR in supplier countries with bilateral trade data for REEs. We estimate the impact of GPR on net-imports of REEs using an instrumental variable approach to address endogeneity concerns. Our results indicate that during the periods 1994 and 2024, increased GPR in REE supplier countries is associated with increased risk-adjusted net-imports. The results indicate substantial amplifying effects of GPR shocks on net-imports. The results indicate that European countries have not diversified their supplier base despite increasing geopolitical risks.