The EU’s trade chief has confirmed publicly for the first time that the bloc is considering a specific rule to compel companies to diversify their suppliers, as Europe looks to unwind its dependencies on China.“Diversification now requires a dedicated instrument,” Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said on Friday, adding that he would model it on the manner in which the EU reduced its reliance on Russian energy following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.“Recent industrial cases, in particular supplies of chips and rare earths, have reinforced my conviction that a step change is necessary. We understand the urgency for critical minerals, but every high-risk sector must be weaned off single-supplier dependence,” Sefcovic said, in a speech at the Brussels Economic Security Forum.The remarks appeared to allude to Beijing’s export controls on critical minerals and semiconductors amid a China-US trade war and a dispute with Netherlands-based chipmaker Nexperia last year. Each round of controls brought parts of European industry to the brink of pausing production.Sefcovic said he would bring his recommendations to the European Council meeting of EU national leaders on June 18 and 19.The separate legal instrument to compel companies to diversify their suppliers has not yet been confirmed, Maros Sefcovic says. Photo: EPA“What you can expect from us is that we kind of mapped out the situation, and I would say the assessment of the overall relationship with China will be presented to the 27 heads of state and government, and I believe that after that we will get political guidance on what concrete tools we should focus on,” Sefcovic said.