China has completely shut down its exports of seven of its rare earths, as well as using their magnets, while also warning Donald Trump to report on his reported plans to store deep-sea metals.
Since the announcement of restrictions on its export restrictions on April 4 In revenge Trump's first round of so-called “reciprocal tariffs.”
Reuters Report Quote information familiar with this matter.
Also on AF: Trump says tariffs on imported chips will be announced soon
However, the licensing process is largely opaque and often involves a longer timeline. Reuters said it could take six to seven weeks, or even months to issue any permit.
“When my clients ask when their goods will be able to leave China, we give them an estimated time of 60 days, but it may actually take longer,” a Chinese rare earth trader told Reuters on anonymous condition.
Furthermore, it remains to be seen whether any of these permits will allow goods to reach the U.S. coast, and it may be unlikely until the trade war between China and the U.S. shows any signs of cooling.
It is worth noting that China No goods have been exported yet Since the metal was put on the control list in September, the rare earth's magnificent land antimony. This move is in retaliation for the group's decision to impose tariffs on imported Chinese electric vehicles.
Similarly, Beijing is now completely limiting shipments to the United States restricted. According to the New York Times reportChinese customs officials have stopped exporting most of the heavy rare earth metals and magnets to all countries.
“Serious Impact of the United States”
The New York Times reported that some Chinese ports allow magnet exports if there are only small traces of heavy rare earth metals in them, if they do not travel to the United States. Meanwhile, other ports require strict testing to prove that none of the unshipped magnets are free of heavy rare earth metals.
The development points out that the ongoing trade war between the world’s two largest economies continues to escalate, and now this also has the potential to drive global supply chains such as electric vehicles, chips, drones, robots and missiles.
Constrained heavy rare earths and magnets are crucial to the production of these technologies. Moreover, in the New York Times report, U.S. military contractors are particularly concerned.
“UAVs and robotics are widely regarded as the future of war, and based on everything we see, key inputs to our future supply chains are shut down,” James Litinsky, executive chairman and CEO of U.S. miner MP Materials, told NYT.
Daniel Pickard, the U.S. Trade Representative and Chairman of the Department of Commerce’s Key Minerals Advisory Committee, also confirmed to the New York Times that China’s export ban “could have serious impacts in the United States.”
Warn of deep-sea metal “storage”
Despite China's export ban, Trump's collection of Chinese goods has increased several times since April 4. The latest tariffs are located in 145% intoxicating.
Even if the United States depends largely on key industries, China's rare earth exports do not exempt these taxes, although like most countries in the world.
Saturday, the Financial Times Report The Trump administration is drafting an executive order to enable deep-sea metal storage to cope with China's dominance in battery minerals and rare earth's supply chains.
Under the plan, inventory will “create large quantities on U.S. territory and use on U.S. territory in the future if conflicts with China may limit imports of metals and rare earths”, the report said.
However, on Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry explain No country may bypass international law to authorize resource exploration in the seabed in response to reports.
According to international law, the seabed and its resources are “a universal heritage of mankind.”
It added in a statement: “The exploration and development of mineral resources in the international seabed areas must be carried out in accordance with the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the International Seabed Authority.”
China's “minimum” pain
China produces about 90% of the world's rare earths and is a major supplier of important elements for users in the world. According to the State University of New York, until 2023, China provides 99% of the world's rare earth metals.
NYT added that a refinery in Vietnam also accounted for a tiny bit of its supply, but has been closed over the past year due to tax disputes.
Meanwhile, China also provides 90% of the world’s rare earth magnets, which is crucial for assembling everything from cars to missiles. The New York Times reported that Japan and Germany produce the remaining 10% but rely on Chinese raw materials.
Last month, China's rare earth exports Jumped up More than 20% of concerns over supply disruption in Myanmar, armed rebels Grasp a key mining belt October.
The Myanmar problem combined with China’s restrictions means that more than 75% of global supply of medium and heavy rare earths are now at risk.
“While inventory may cover recent demand, our estimates suggest they can only reach the first half of 2025,” Neha Mukherjee, senior analyst at benchmark mineral intelligence, told Reuters.
In the short term, Mukherjee pointed out that such damage may also soar.
Although this situation poses great risks to the world's technology supply chain, considering the impact of rare earths and magnets accounts for a small percentage of the overall export volume of the United States and the world.
However, it will cut China's dominance of rare earths as it will force overseas buyers to speed up Their diversity from Chinaeven if the process can be long.
- Reuters, other editors and inputs with Vishakha Saxena
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