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yesterday

China’s Export Controls on Rare Earths Stall Global Supply Chains

Governments are urging Beijing to ease licensing delays after a new tracking system worsened industry shortages.

Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China October 31, 2010. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA OUT.
A labourer works at a site of a rare earth metals mine at Nancheng county, Jiangxi province March 14, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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A Chinese flag flutters at the Chinese Ministry of Commerce building in Beijing, China June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo

Overview

  • China’s April 4 controls added seven rare earth metals and related magnets to a licence regime that now leaves shipments paused at ports as approvals take two to three months.
  • A newly launched national tracking system requires rare earth magnet producers to submit trading volumes and client data online, suggesting these measures may be permanent.
  • Global automakers warn of production delays and potential plant shutdowns without reliable magnet supplies, and some are considering moving motor assembly to China to bypass export curbs.
  • EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic pressed Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao to accelerate licence approvals after only 25% of export applications were granted, prompting some European car factories to halt lines.
  • President Trump and President Xi Jinping are expected to address rare earth export measures in upcoming trade talks as Washington accuses Beijing of slow-rolling licence rollbacks agreed in a recent tariff truce.