China’s Rare Earth Magnet Exports to US Dip as Global Shipments Grow

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Sep 23, 2025 - 09:51 Updated: Sep 23, 2025 - 02:20
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China’s Rare Earth Magnet Exports to US Dip as Global Shipments Grow

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China’s exports of rare earth permanent magnets to the United States fell in August while its overall shipments rose, highlighting trade tensions in the strategically important sector.

According to Chinese customs data released on Sept. 20, China shipped 6,146 metric tons of permanent magnets last month, up 10.2 percent from July and 15.4 percent from a year earlier. It was the highest monthly total since January, when exports reached 6,357 metric tons.

The European Union remained the top destination for Chinese rare earth magnets, importing 2,582 metric tons in August. That represented 42 percent of total shipments and marked a 21 percent increase from July, which had already seen a surge of more than 50 percent.

The United States, the second-largest buyer, imported 590 tons, down 4.8 percent from July and 11.8 percent lower than in August 2024.

Rare earth metals, a group of 17 metals used in products ranging from electric cars to wind turbines to nuclear submarines, have emerged as a key lever for the Chinese regime in its trade fight with Western economies.

China commands a near monopoly on rare earths, accounting for 61 percent of global extraction and 92 percent of refining production, according to the International Energy Agency.

In April, the Chinese regime expanded its export control list to include seven of 17 rare earth metals, along with magnets composed of three of these elements, disrupting global supply chains critical to the defense, electronics, and automotive industries.

The move came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump implemented steep tariffs on Chinese exports as part of his efforts to rebalance trade relations and pressure Beijing to curb the flow of illicit fentanyl into American communities.

Rare earth exports to the United States rebounded sharply in June and July, climbing to more than 600 metric tons after plunging to fewer than 50 in May amid heated tariff exchanges between Washington and Beijing. In July, Washington announced that the two sides had agreed on a framework to facilitate rare earth shipments, following talks in Geneva that paved the way for a 90-day suspension of most heavy tariffs while negotiations continued.
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Despite the truce, Western businesses say disruptions in the rare earth supply persist. In a Sept. 17 report, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, which represents more than 1,600 companies from the 27-country bloc, warned that small- and medium-sized enterprises still face “significant” supply problems and that no “long-term, sustainable solution” has been put forward.
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Trump, who spoke by phone with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Sept. 19 and said the two had “made progress” on trade issues, pointed to aircraft parts as a U.S. countermeasure to China’s restrictions on rare earths.

Speaking on Aug. 25 at the White House alongside visiting South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung, Trump said China has 200 Boeing jets that would be grounded if the United States withheld replacement parts.

“I sent them all of the parts so their planes can fly,” Trump told reporters. “I could have held them back. I didn’t do that because of the relationship I have. And they’re flying.”

The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has echoed this strategy. The committee’s chairman, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), on Sept. 20 urged the administration to restrict or suspend Chinese airline landing rights in the United States unless Beijing restores full access to rare earths and magnets. He also called for a review of export control policies governing aircraft, parts, and maintenance services to China.

In the meantime, Washington and its allies are stepping up efforts to make rare earth magnets outside China. In July, the Pentagon invested $400 million to become the largest shareholder of MP Materials, which expects to begin commercial magnet production later this year.

On Sept. 22, Canada’s Neo Performance Materials opened Europe’s first large-scale rare earth magnet factory in Estonia after securing contracts with German automakers Schaeffler and Bosch. The facility is expected to produce 2,000 metric tons of magnet blocks each year, with a goal to more than double that capacity to 5,000 metric tons in the coming years.

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