Statement on China’s Export Controls on Rare Earth Elements Go back »

2025-06-06 | All chapters

Background

On 4th April, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced export controls on several rare earth elements (REEs) and permanent magnets (neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) magnets containing the rare earth elements terbium (Tb) and dysprosium (Dy)), which are subject to the Export Control Law. Under these new export control measures, exporters are required to obtain licences before shipping components containing these elements overseas. While the export controls appear to be a reaction to US tariffs, they impact the export of REEs from China to the rest of the world, including the EU.

Stance

The European Chamber convened a meeting on 6th June with representatives from industries that are most impacted by China’s export controls on REEs and related magnets.

From the discussion that took place, it is clear that since the 27th May meeting with China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)—during which the challenges posed by export controls on REEs were discussed among around 40 European Chamber member companies and MOFCOM officials—there has been some improvement in the situation. Specifically, there has been an increase in the number of export approvals that European companies have obtained, with China having seemingly prioritised those considered most urgent—based on input from European industry—in order to avoid a major crisis. However, this has still not been sufficient to prevent severe supply chain disruptions for many companies.

“Our members are still struggling with the export licence approval process, due to both the time it takes and the lack of transparency, and this is now negatively impacting production lines in Europe and other countries,” said European Chamber President Jens Eskelund. “We are in regular contact with the Chinese authorities on this issue, and are now developing recommendations that we believe could eliminate the volatility that many companies are experiencing, and that will be in the mutual interests of both the EU and China.”

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