GreenergyDaily

Aug. 19, 2025

China's flows of rare-earth magnets to the US continued to recover in July — with volumes rising 76% month-on-month — after Beijing agreed to normalize exports as part of its trade truce with Washington.

The Asian nation shipped 619 tons of rare-earth permanent magnets to the US, up from a low of 46 tons in May, when the two countries were still locked in a damaging tit-for-tat trade war.

China released on Friday interim measures for the control and management of its rare earths mining, smelting and separation activities.

This came after China began a public consultation in February on new regulations designed to protect its domestic rare earths industry.

Following talks in Geneva and London this summer, Chinese negotiators pledged to normalize flows. The US is "very happy" with the status quo on trade with China, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Fox News interview.

Still, total supplies to the US this year are lagging because of the earlier deep slump. Average monthly volumes for January to July are about 28% lower than for all of 2024.

Magnet supplies to most other major buyers also rebounded. Shipments for Japan rose 76%, while those to Germany gained 46% and India surged 143%.