China’s rare earths controls prompt fears of auto shortages and shutdowns

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The latest export controls in China on rare ground minerals can cause cars production, although basic magnet stocks will implement within months if Beijing suffocates exports completely.
Beijing expanded the export restrictions to seven Rare The vital elements and magnets of electric cars, wind turbines and combat aircraft in early April in retaliation for the sharp tariff of US President Donald Trump by 145 percent on China.
Government officials, merchants, and car executives, with estimates of stocks estimated at three to six months, said companies to store more materials and find alternative supplies to avoid severe disorder.
Jean -Jez, a trader of minerals at the Frankfurt -based Tradium, has warned that customers have been neglected and that most of the car groups and their suppliers seem to have a magnet for only two to three months.
“If we do not see the delivery of magnets to the European Union or Japan at that time or at least near that, I think we will see real problems in the supply chain of cars,” said Jis.
The latest control tools in China have focused on the rare “heavy” and “medium” ground that enables the high -performance magnets that can withstand higher temperatures, such as Desprosium, Turbium and Samarium. This is vital for military applications such as aircraft, missiles and drones, as well as circuits, engines and transportation that are intensively in electric and hybrid vehicles.
One of the leading CEOs of cars said that critical metal restrictions will be “dependency” for Tesla and all other cars manufacturers, describing the export control elements as “7 or 8” on a scale from 1 to 10 in terms of intensity.
He said: “It is a form of revenge as the Chinese government can say,” Well, we will not go to the rate of customs tariffs, but we will hurt you the United States of America and we will motivate companies to participate with your home governments to change the policy of customs tariffs. “
There are usually rare ground minerals in the Earth’s crust, but it is difficult to extract at a low cost and in an environmentally friendly way, with China Leadership is close to monopolizing the treatment of rare heavy land.
“Light” is rare lands, such as nodimum and Praseodymium, used in larger quantities in magnets that were not targeted, giving Beijing “a large heading of threats” to expand controls if the trade war intensified.
Beijing controls require exporters to obtain licenses for each charge of materials abroad and expand their scope for a re -export ban on the United States. However, the application of restrictions – which has gradually covered a critical minerals since 2023 in response to the American blocs to Chinese access to chips technology – was not universal.
Chinese exporters have already announced that the force majeure on land shipments and rare magnets is heading abroad and withdrew materials for sale from the market, which increases the blocking of the price of the already unfamiliar goods.
Japan and other countries are suspended hopes to reduce China’s grip on rare heavy land through the Australian Linaas, which is scheduled to expand the Malaysian treatment site for the production of Desprosium and Turbium by mid -2015.
“The elements of the rare heavy land stocks are not sufficient to avoid possible disturbances of car supplies chains,” said a Japanese government official, who added that the national stocks must provide additional relief for two to three months of auto manufacturers.
He added: “The problem is whether we can build the new alternative supply chain in time until our stocks survive.”
It has not yet been clear from the advertisements of Chinese government since April 2 how Beijing plans to implement the latest export controls.
Analysts said the export controls come at a time when China is facing a decrease in rare land materials due to the civil war in Myanmar, which means that there is a block on exports that will push local supplies.
Experts noted that over the past years, China has been reluctant to prevent shipments that would harm its economic interests, such as gallium, but shipments were highly superior to other minerals such as Antimon, which are used to make bullets.
“The decisive question is the time they will take to address export licenses,” said Jis.
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2025-04-20 04:00:00