China holds rare‑earth policy
A specialist report says China has suspended rare‑earth export controls through November 2026 while keeping the option to reimpose restrictions later. (rareearthexchanges.com) The announcement signals Beijing may prefer calibrated leverage over outright disruption, leaving manufacturers reliant on those elements attentive to policy shifts. (rareearthexchanges.com)
China has kept a second round of rare-earth export controls on hold until November 10, 2026, while leaving the licensing system and the option to tighten it again in place. (english.scio.gov.cn) China’s Commerce Ministry said on April 10 that export applications for rare earths that meet the rules, including “genuine civilian use,” will be approved according to law. The ministry tied the suspension to China-United States economic and trade talks held in Kuala Lumpur. (english.scio.gov.cn) The suspended measures date to October 9, 2025, and were formally paused on November 7, 2025, with the pause set to run through November 10, 2026. Xinhua said the suspended package covered six announcements, including controls on rare-earth equipment, raw materials, related technologies, and five medium and heavy rare-earth elements including holmium. (english.news.cn) Rare earths are a group of metals used in permanent magnets, electronics, catalysts, and defense systems. China’s April 4, 2025 controls had already put some medium and heavy rare-earth items under license, including samarium, gadolinium, and terbium products. (english.mofcom.gov.cn) That matters because supply chains outside China still depend heavily on Chinese processing. The International Energy Agency said the top three refining countries accounted for 97% of rare-earth refining in 2024, and projected 92% in 2030 even after new projects come online. (iea.org) The United States still imports most of the rare-earth compounds and metals it uses. The United States Geological Survey said China supplied 70% of U.S. rare-earth compounds and metals imports from 2020 through 2023, and U.S. net import reliance for compounds and metals was 80% in 2024. (pubs.usgs.gov) Europe has been hit by the same exposure. The European Parliament’s research service said China’s 2025 restrictions affected materials “indispensable” to the European Union’s digital, green, and defense industries, and said the November 2025 suspension exposed vulnerabilities that remain hard to fix. (europarl.europa.eu) Beijing has framed the policy as export control, not a blanket ban. In its April 2025 notice, the Commerce Ministry said the controls were imposed under China’s Export Control Law and other trade and customs rules, citing national security and nonproliferation obligations. (english.mofcom.gov.cn) The practical effect is a year of relative breathing room, not a permanent reset. China’s own April 10 briefing said the October 2025 measures are suspended only until November 10, 2026, and future changes remain part of ongoing trade consultations. (english.scio.gov.cn)
