China’s exports of rare earth products jumped to a near-record 7,338 tons in August, marking the highest monthly volume since 2012, according to customs data cited by Bloomberg on Friday.
The data comes right before a scheduled phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, during which they are expected to discuss trade and critical minerals.
China is the world’s largest producer of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals used in a multitude of high-tech applications, ranging from consumer electronics to fighter jets. With control over 70% of the global mine supply and almost all of the processing, the nation has a near-monopoly status in the rare earth sector.
In April, at the height of the US-instigated trade war, Xi’s government leveraged its dominance in rare earths by placing export restrictions on some minerals and related products, in particular high-performance magnets used in electric vehicles to wind turbines, causing disruptions in those industries.
Since then, these restrictions have loosened as trade tensions subsided, and the August export figure underscores a potential easing of supply shortage concerns.
However, the recovery may also indicate that exporters were only catching up on delayed magnet orders from the earlier months. Customs data earlier showed that Chinese exports of just rare earth minerals fell 3.4% to 5,792 tons during the month.
Europe disrupted
Despite the surge in Chinese exports, end-users of rare earth magnets in Europe remain undersupplied, with many forced to halt production, according to Bloomberg.
The EU Chamber of Commerce in China said Thursday that companies incurred seven production stoppages in August because of the shortfalls, and an additional 46 are expected this month, though it did not specify the scale or nature of the affected facilities.
A further 10 stoppages are expected by December, in addition to those in August and September, the group added.
“We are seeing things moving, but they are moving extremely, extremely slowly,” Carlo D’Andrea, the Chamber’s vice president and chair of its Shanghai chapter, said at a press briefing. He called the supply bottleneck the single biggest issue currently facing the group’s members.
The information on potential shutdowns comes from 22 firms that have sought the Chamber’s help in getting approval for a total of 141 urgent applications for exports from China, Bloomberg reported.
“China’s imposition of export controls on rare earths in April 2025 exemplifies how the US-China trade war can have significant spillover effects on global trade, critically impacting European companies’ supply chains,” the EU Chamber said in a report earlier this week.
The EU warning contrasts with remarks made earlier this week by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who said supplies to his country had “bounced back up significantly.”
