Overview
- China’s Commerce Ministry has approved some U.S. applications for medium and heavy rare earth exports and indicated Washington will roll back certain trade curbs.
- Eased licensing has eased supply strains for American automakers, but elements like dysprosium and terbium remain bottlenecked under China’s strict export controls.
- China still controls more than 99% of the global supply of separated dysprosium and terbium and about 85% of rare earth processing capacity, giving it decisive leverage.
- The U.S. government has introduced new legislation, streamlined regulations and awarded MP Materials a $58.5 million tax credit to build the country’s first fully integrated rare earth magnet facility.
- Analysts caution that despite recent gains, achieving a self-reliant U.S. rare earth supply chain will take years due to technical, regulatory and financial hurdles.