China Keeps 7 Rare Earth Curbs in Force as 91% Refining Grip Tests US Response
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 30
China Keeps 7 Rare Earth Curbs in Force as 91% Refining Grip Tests US Response
3 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 30
Summary
China left its April 2025 controls on seven rare earth elements in place, even after suspending a broader October package until Nov. 10, 2026, keeping licensing delays and supply uncertainty at the center of the market.
91% of global rare earth separation and refining is still in China, according to the IEA, making the bottleneck chemical processing rather than mining; China also mined 270,000 tonnes in 2025, about 69% of world output.
17 tonnes of yttrium reached the United States from April to December 2025, down from 333 tonnes in the prior eight months, illustrating how small-volume specialty materials can disrupt aerospace coatings and other high-temperature applications.
More than $7.3 billion in US support has been committed to build alternatives, including the Pentagon’s $400 million stake in MP Materials, a $150 million loan and a $110-per-kilogram floor price for neodymium-praseodymium output.
Jan. 1, 2027 is the next major test: US defense contractors are due to stop using Chinese, Russian, Iranian and North Korean rare earths, even as Mountain Pass’s 8,900 tonnes in 2025 covered only about a third of US consumption.
Will the West sacrifice its strict environmental standards to break China's chokehold on critical high-tech minerals?
With the 2027 defense ban looming, can Western supply chains scale up in time to avoid a major military manufacturing crisis?
Could the race for rare-earth-free motors bypass this geopolitical bottleneck entirely before the massive global investment pays off?
90% Dependency: The Allied Struggle to Counter China’s Rare Earths Dominance and Secure Critical Minerals by 2030
Overview
In 2026, escalating trade tensions triggered a chain reaction in the global critical minerals market. After the US Pentagon targeted major Chinese tech firms, China responded by imposing export controls on key US companies, including rare earth suppliers. This pattern of retaliation spread to Japan and Europe, causing severe supply disruptions and price spikes, especially in sectors like automotive and electronics. As China tightened its grip with new extraterritorial export rules, the G7 formed an alliance to reduce dependency on Chinese minerals by 2030. Despite massive investments and recycling efforts, the world faces ongoing supply risks and regulatory challenges through the decade.