China's Rare‑earth Moves

China is shipping more rare-earth magnets abroad while keeping a tighter grip on some of the heavy elements that make the highest-performance magnets work. (reuters.com) Chinese customs data showed rare-earth magnet exports rose 8.2% year over year to 10,763 metric tons in January and February 2026. Over the same two months, shipments of permanent magnets to the United States fell 22.5% to 994 tonnes, while European Union-bound volumes rose 28.4% to 4,775 tonnes. (reuters.com; scmp.com) At the same time, exports of heavier rare earths moved differently. Market trackers using China customs data reported terbium exports down sharply at the start of 2026, while March shipments fell to 3 kilograms from 500 kilograms in February; dysprosium rebounded in March after earlier weakness. (rawmaterials.net; tradium.com) Those heavier elements are added in small amounts to magnets to keep them working at high temperatures. S&P Global said dysprosium and terbium are the “heavies” most associated with high-performance permanent magnets used in defense systems, electric vehicles and other advanced equipment. (spglobal.com) Beijing set up the legal framework for that control on April 4, 2025, when the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs put export controls on seven medium and heavy rare earth categories, including terbium and dysprosium, plus related oxides, alloys, compounds and some permanent magnet materials. (english.mofcom.gov.cn) The split in the trade data shows China distinguishing between finished components and the scarcest inputs inside them. It can keep broad magnet trade moving while still limiting the materials that matter most for heat-resistant, military-grade or industrial-grade applications. (english.mofcom.gov.cn; spglobal.com) The United States has been building a response around domestic processing and magnet production. On July 10, 2025, MP Materials said it reached a multibillion-dollar public-private partnership with the Department of Defense to build a second U.S. magnet plant, lift total U.S. rare-earth magnet capacity to about 10,000 metric tons, and add heavy rare earth separation at Mountain Pass, California. (mpmaterials.com) Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy said the deal included a 10-year offtake agreement for all output from MP’s planned “10X Facility,” a 10-year price floor of $110 per kilogram for neodymium-praseodymium oxide, and $400 million in preferred equity that would make the government the company’s largest shareholder. (energypolicy.columbia.edu) China still sits at the center of the supply chain. S&P Global, citing International Energy Agency data for 2024, said China accounted for 61% of global mined supply and 91% of refining and processing capacity for key rare earths. (spglobal.com) That leaves buyers watching not just how many magnets China exports, but which additives and oxides it lets out with them. In 2026, the pressure point is no longer the headline tonnage alone; it is the handful of kilograms that determine who can make the hottest-running magnets at scale. (tradium.com; spglobal.com)