RESourceEU moves critical minerals from market policy to security policy, and the export side lands first
The CRMA framework — 34 critical and 17 strategic raw materials, with 2030 benchmarks of 10 per cent extraction, 40 per cent processing and 25 per cent recycling of annual EU consumption — is now being executed through RESourceEU. That plan commits up to €3 billion for 2026 and establishes a European Critical Raw Materials Centre to run market intelligence, joint purchasing and stockpiling. The first selection round designated 47 strategic projects within the Union and 13 in third countries and overseas countries and territories; a second cut-off closed on 15 January 2026 with a high volume of applications.
Two measures deserve attention outside the Union. A proposal flagged for the second quarter of 2026 would restrict exports of permanent magnet scrap and waste, with targeted measures on aluminium scrap and copper under monitoring. And a targeted CRMA amendment would extend product labelling and recycled-content declarations for permanent magnets.
Export restriction on scrap is a supply-chain intervention aimed at feedstock, and it will be felt by traders and recyclers well outside the Union. Combined with foreign direct investment screening exposure on inbound investment into critical raw material value chains, this is a jurisdiction becoming interventionist quickly, and the direction of travel is one-way.
If you trade magnet, aluminium or copper scrap into or out of the Union, treat the second quarter of 2026 as a live restriction risk and check force majeure and change-of-law allocation in existing offtake. Third-country project promoters should assess the strategic project route, which carries expedited permitting and access to financing.
Covered in OGEMEX Regulatory Monitor No. 001, week ending 31 July 2026.