China Announces 1-year Suspension of Expanded Rare Earth Export Controls

A glass jar containing the rare earth metal Terbium (L) is pictured inside the storage room of Tradium, a company specialised in trading rare earths, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on November 4, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
A glass jar containing the rare earth metal Terbium (L) is pictured inside the storage room of Tradium, a company specialised in trading rare earths, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on November 4, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
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China Announces 1-year Suspension of Expanded Rare Earth Export Controls

A glass jar containing the rare earth metal Terbium (L) is pictured inside the storage room of Tradium, a company specialised in trading rare earths, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on November 4, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
A glass jar containing the rare earth metal Terbium (L) is pictured inside the storage room of Tradium, a company specialised in trading rare earths, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on November 4, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

China suspended an array of export control measures it imposed on October 9, including expanded curbs on some rare earths materials and equipment, as well as lithium battery materials and super-hard materials, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The suspensions were effective immediately and would apply through November 10, 2026, the ministry said.

The announcement confirmed and formalized an agreement reached after US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping hammered out a trade truce last month.

The White House and China's Commerce Ministry had both said such an announcement was forthcoming.