Australia wants to ship more minerals and hydrogen to Europe.

Berlin Don Farrell arrived in Europe at the right time. To his delight, the Australian trade minister saw snow twice – snow is rare in his home country.

But Pharrell has been absent from the European tour in recent weeks due to the weather. His aim: He wants to position Australia as an alternative to China in supplying raw materials – and promote a free trade deal with the EU.

“If you want rare earths, you can go to China, but you can also come to Australia,” he says in an exclusive interview with Handelsblatt at the Australian embassy in Berlin. Australia has the second largest mineral reserves in the world.

When it comes to so-called rare earths, Australia has the world’s sixth largest deposit. Australia is an international leader in the production of lithium, important for batteries.