China issues first batch of streamlined rare earth licences

[Ben Graham]

China has issued the first batch of new, streamlined export licences for rare earths in fulfillment of its recent trade truce with the United States, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

These new licences, according to sources cited by Reuters, were issued to three of China’s leading magnet makers: JL Mag Rare Earth, Ningbo Yunsheng and Beijing Zhong Ke San Huan High-Tech.

Issuance of the licences comes more than a month after China agreed to temporarily suspend its expanded rare earth export controls as part of a broader trade deal with the United States.

Rare earth controls

Rare earths have become a central flashpoint in this year’s trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies. China, which controls over half of the world’s mined supply and almost all of the processing, placed a suite of rare earths under export restrictions in April as retaliation for US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

The resulting slump in shipments of rare earths and related magnets raised alarms across global manufacturing supply chains, stoking fears of production halts in industries ranging from electric vehicles to defence sectors.

In early October, Beijing again leveraged its dominant position in rare earths by introducing expanded export controls, but those measures have been reversed following positive talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, after which Beijing pledged to issue one-year “general licences” to ease the pressure of global rare earth shortages.

A “‘general licence” — such as the ones issued to the three Chinese firms — would allow for multiple shipments by one supplier to one or more buyers for a specified period of time, instead of requiring approval for every shipment.

Closed gap

The new licences would supplement — but not replace — the existing export control framework, Reuters reported last month. For now, only the large Chinese rare earth companies are eligible, but the criteria could widen if the rollout proves successful, it said.

China’s new export licensing system goes some way to closing the gap between Beijing and Washington’s respective accounts of what was agreed at the leaders’ meeting in South Korea.

European Union Chamber of Commerce in China stated on Tuesday that the licences “provide much-needed stability and predictability” for buyers.

European firms, many of which had flagged significant delays under the prior regime, welcomed the shift, but remain attentive to long delays and warned about the lack of transparency in the existing export control system.

Chinese authorities so far have not publicly signalled an end to the broader restrictions.

Despite the export curbs, shipments of rare earth magnets from China have posted a recovery since the initial slump. Exports to the US hit a nine-month high in October, though total supplies for the year were still down 20%, according to Chinese customs data.

(With files from Bloomberg and Reuters)