China Tightens Rare Earth Export Controls

China's tighter export controls on rare earth minerals are unsettling U.S. manufacturers and importers.
Beijing has expanded licensing and quota requirements for elements such as neodymium and dysprosium, which power permanent magnets in electric vehicles, wind turbines and defense systems.
Industry sources say the move exploits China's dominant processing and refining capacity, creating downstream choke points even if ore is mined elsewhere. New non-Chinese mines face long permitting timelines, high capital expenditure and limited domestic processing capacity, making rapid supply diversification difficult.
Analysts expect increased price volatility and operational disruptions. Firms are accelerating measures such as stockpiling, intensified recycling programs, and investment in allied-country suppliers, but scaling those responses takes years.
Policymakers are considering incentives for domestic refining, public–private partnerships and trade measures with partners like Australia and India to reduce strategic exposure. Technical hurdles in separation and refining, plus environmental constraints, mean policy and industrial shifts will be gradual.
The development highlights how mineral export policy has become a strategic lever with immediate implications for electrification, clean energy deployment and defense industrial resilience.