Recently, China-U.S. trade friction has escalated, and the Ministry of Commerce of China issued six consecutive export control announcements on October 9, 2025, directly targeting rare earth, lithium batteries, artificial graphite negative materials and other key items to strengthen control. This batch of announcements includes No. 61 and No. 62, which clearly stipulates that when foreign organizations and individuals export products containing Chinese rare earth ingredients, the Ministry of Commerce must obtain a permit, especially the value ratio of ingredients to 0.1%. The Ministry of Commerce stressed that these measures are to maintain national security, not to ban exports, but to continue application for compliance. The General Office of Customs data showed that the total export of rare iron magnets in China in the first nine months of this year was 39817 tons,

The U.S. side responded quickly, Trump spoke directly, saying China was launching a ¡°rare-earth blockade¡±, threatening to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese products, and also listed rare-earth, phentanyl and soybeans as the top issues for U.S.-China negotiations. Trump said in an interview that the U.S. had stronger resources and monopoly power, but it was not useful before, and now it is time. He also said U.S.-China trade frictions will be prolonged and must push key industries out of foreign dependence. Treasury Minister Scott Bessent proposed at the G7 meeting to attract more national strengths, and German and British officials expressed support. Bessent stressed that allies should find reliable sources of rare-earth and get rid of dependence on China

EU officials met in Brussels to discuss how to coordinate the response and also plan to launch an anti-dumping investigation into China¡¯s new energy industries such as electric vehicle batteries, solar equipment, with overcapacity targeting more than 20 industries. Though more than 70% of EU¡¯s rare earth imports depend on China, they have initiated these actions. China has not interrupted supply and EU countries have not found any alternative sources. EU trade commissioners said in a statement that to seek coordination with U.S. and G7 partners to jointly tackle China¡¯s rare earth cracks. The EU defense industry has warned that it is urgent to reduce its dependence on key raw materials, China supplies 31% of the EU and 97% of the uranium metals, and the demand for rare earth is expected to increase six times by 2030.

Australia has long been working with the United States to increase its production of rare earth to get rid of dependence on China. They are also investing in Malaysia to build heavy rare earth separation production capacity, trying to build deep processing base outside of China. The Australian Treasury Minister said in Washington, the promise to reduce the dependence on rare earth on China, which is right to catch up with the United States to pull other countries against China's rare earth export control. Australia's rare earth processing capacity is weak, the market share is less than 5%, but the stock is large, now through cooperation with the United States to integrate. China has signed 54,000 tons of oil seeds from Australia, which is the largest deal since the trade tensions between the two countries, but Australia is in the area of resources in Asia, leaving its own agricultural exporters very concerned.

Up to now, 32 countries have publicly expressed their intention to take action against China's rare earth policy, which are mainly divided into three categories: G7 countries such as the United States, Britain, and Japan, major member states of the European Union, and Australia, Canada, and South Korea, which have been pulled by the United States. key partners. These countries include the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Austria, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Cyprus, plus South Korea, New Zealand. They form a pressure camp through meetings and statements. The U.S. Critical Minerals Alliance was established in October 2025. Members share mining and processing technology, but its strength is still far behind China's. China has mastered 90% of the world's smelting, separation and purification capabilities, and the entire industrial chain from mining to magnetic materials can be independent and independent of foreign countries.

In the past ten years, the United States has tried to restore local production, but it has been unsuccessful due to high technical barriers, high environmental protection costs, and small market size. Now we have introduced a guaranteed reserve price for rare earths, and purchased local rare earths at US $110/kg, which is twice the Chinese market price. The government has promised to ensure that enterprises do not lose money through financial subsidies within ten years. This is actually a direct intervention in market pricing, with the aim of establishing US-led pricing power and weakening China's influence. However, under the pressure of high inflation and fiscal deficit in the United States, this policy is facing a test, and eventually the cost will be passed on to consumers, through mobile phones, electric vehicles and other products. The United States regards China's dominance of rare earths as a strategic risk and is joining forces with allies such as Japan, South Korea, and Canada to create alternative supplies.

China's Ministry of Commerce reiterated at the press conference on October 17th that the new regulations are to prevent rare earths from being used to make weapons, not to restrict trade. The door is open, and countries are welcome to cooperate in deep processing fields such as environmental protection and purification. The construction of China's rare earth bases has been accelerated, and two-thirds of rare earths have been deeply processed in China, leaving profits and technology in China. China has formulated the regulatory principles of limited, limited and unlimited cooperation. By limiting speculation and limiting military industry, it maintains technical cooperation, which not only ensures national security, but also conforms to international trade rules. The door to negotiations is always open, but pressure will not work, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Despite the joint action of the G7, the EU and the United States, no concrete alternatives and timetables have been put forward so far. China pointed out that if trade and resource issues continue to be politicized, the consequences will be borne by the stakeholders. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce stressed that the measures had been notified to the United States before the introduction, which is not equivalent to a ban on exports. The Chinese side has not responded specifically to the Trump speech, reiterating that it will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. The global market for rare earth faces price fluctuations, supply interruptions, and limited technical cooperation.