ChatGPT | China is a threat to Europe's gunpowder supply, defense boss warns, 18 Apr

In an interview with POLITICO, Saab CEO Micael Johansson called on governments to cut environmental rules to make it easier for companies to diversify their supply chains for critical < wipes tears > military components.

dual-use: sulfur, potassium nitrate (fertilizer), CO₂ (charcoal), possibly nitrocellulose (gun "cotton" or wood pulp)

Beijing plays a key role in supplying EU countries with the raw materials they need for their defense industries, even though China is also providing vital support to Vladimir Putin's war machine in Ukraine.
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googlish: maaseuduntulevaisuus.fi | 40 000 truck cargo block went underground and disappeared - trade journal: the Suspicion of the cooked pulp and scorched heat (06.04.24)

While lead times and prices for some components have improved, Johansson told POLITICO that the European defense industry still faced "bottlenecks", especially on "powder and nitrocellulose to create powder".

"The risk of China sort of disconnecting the deliveries of nitrocellulose to do powder in Europe ... would be detrimental."