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Chinese Rare Earth Exports to the US Soar by 660%
Why the Rare Earth Reversal?
On August 12, 2025, both China and the U.S. made a major announcement: China would temporarily suspend its rare earth export controls for 90 days on 28 U.S. companies, while the U.S. would simultaneously halt a 24% tariff increase on Chinese goods. Just three months earlier, the U.S. had been a vocal proponent of "completely breaking free from Chinese rare earth dependence." However, Chinese customs data delivered a swift reality check: in June, exports of rare earth magnets to the U.S. skyrocketed by 660%, as a backlog of 2,000 tons of orders flooded into Western markets. What's going on? At a time when the world is calling for "decoupling from China," why are rare earth orders growing instead?
Let's pull back the curtain and dive into this complex rare earth resource struggle. Amid the global supply chain reshuffling, China is using "precision irrigation" to cleverly control the lifeline of the world's rare earth supply. Western countries have poured enormous sums of money and spent a decade trying to reduce their reliance on Chinese rare earths, but they have consistently failed. With Tesla's robots about to enter mass production, demand for rare earths is poised for a new surge, and a new storm is quietly brewing.
The Lifeline Orders and the Hidden Leverage
The surge in exports in June was no accident. Chinese customs data shows that single-month rare earth magnet exports to the U.S. shot up to 352.8 tons, a 660% increase from May. This was a direct result of the temporary rare earth agreement reached between the two countries in June, where China promised to "prioritize existing orders," boosting the efficiency of export license approvals by 90%.
Even more cunning is China's "differentiated treatment." German automakers like Volkswagen and BMW quickly received the magnets they desperately needed, while the samarium-cobalt magnets for Lockheed Martin's missiles remain on the export control list.
This "case-by-case" strategy has had an immediate effect. From mining to magnet production, China controls 90% of the world's refining capacity for heavy rare earths. While the U.S. company MP Materials received a $400 million investment from the Pentagon, its magnet scrap rate remains as high as 40%. Meanwhile, Chinese companies have long achieved ultra-high purity separation technology of 99.999%. As one rare earth trader put it, "This isn't dumping; it's an overt strategy. By controlling 'how much and to whom we sell,' China is turning resource leverage into a strategic asset."