Particle.news
Download on the App Store
38 ARTICLES
·
last wk.

China’s Rare Earth Export Curbs Risk July Production Halts for Automakers

Delays in Chinese ministry approvals for magnet shipments have forced carmakers into a scramble for backup supplies, prompting moves to ramp domestic production, diversify import routes, secure temporary licences.

Image
Workers use machinery to dig at a rare earth mine in Ganxian county in central China's Jiangxi province on Dec. 30, 2010.

Overview

  • Chinese export controls on seven heavy and medium rare earth elements and magnets, in place since early April, have halved magnet shipments and left hundreds of export permit applications pending with the Ministry of Commerce.
  • Indian automakers report zero approvals for embassy-endorsed end-user certificates, with industry bodies warning that EV and two-wheeler production could halt by July without renewed imports.
  • Maruti Suzuki India has maintained production using existing inventory buffers, but Crisil Ratings estimates that disruptions beyond 30 days would affect both electric and internal combustion vehicle output.
  • Trade talks in London yielded some temporary licences for U.S. firms, while the EU gained a fast-track channel for European applicants and launched Critical Raw Materials Act projects to reduce reliance on China.
  • India is accelerating domestic rare earth exploration, partnering with Indian Rare Earths Ltd and private firms under production-linked incentives, while also securing alternative supply deals with Japan, Vietnam and Russia.