Europe has finally taken major steps to build up its rare earths sector to counter Chinese dominance, but the region also needs to guard against being overwhelmed by the United States, the head of an EU-funded agency for key minerals said. Bernd Schaefer, CEO of EIT RawMaterials, welcomed Wednesday's release of a new EU action plan to secure critical raw materials used in electric cars, wind turbines and semiconductors. The European Commission's REsourceEU plan includes investing 3 billion euros ($3.49 billion) over the next year to fast-track projects that could cut reliance on supplies from a single country. "It is certainly a real step change from ambition to delivery, but it's still missing a couple of things," Schaefer told Reuters in an interview. The EU needs to step up negotiations with third countries that can supply it with key minerals, he said.