The European Union is privately warning that there's little it can do in the near term to compel China to ease export controls on critical rare earths, a move that's caused major disruptions for Europe's industry, including auto and defense manufacturers.

Senior EU officials have told member states that efforts to diversify away from China are difficult and the bloc's economic security plans have so far fallen short, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Beijing has been throttling shipments of rare earth magnets that are used in everything from electric vehicle batteries to defense manufacturing, requiring companies to obtain import permits. While the EU will benefit from an agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping to pause stringent new export c

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