China Rare Earth Export Controls
Information only, not investment advice. This guide explains how the rare earth industry works; it does not recommend any company or security.
China rare earth export controls are licence rules. Since April 2025, they have covered seven rare earths, including dysprosium and terbium, in metal, oxide, alloy and compound form.
China announced a second, wider set of controls in October 2025 and suspended it for one year in November, while the April rules stayed in force. That timeline comes from the US Geological Survey's 2026 review of the rare earth market, which is also the source for the production, import and price figures below.
What are China's rare earth export controls?
An export control is a rule that a product can't leave the country without a government licence, which is different from a ban. A company in China that wants to ship a controlled material has to get government approval first.
China already had export controls on rare earths and tightened them in 2025, mostly by adding heavy rare earths. The USGS lists terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium as the heavy group. It also counts yttrium as a heavy rare earth.
What changed in 2025?
China changed its rare earth export rules three times in 2025, according to the USGS rare earths summary for 2026.
| Date | What China did | Elements | Status at end of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2025 | Added specific controls on alloys, compounds, metals and oxides | Samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, yttrium | In effect, with general licences issued to selected exporters |
| October 2025 | Expanded the controls | Europium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium | Suspended |
| November 2025 | Suspended the October controls for one year | The five October additions | Suspension running |
The April list also covers samarium and gadolinium, along with scandium, which the USGS usually tracks in its own chapter. The November suspension applied to the October expansion only, and the USGS reports that the April controls were still in effect as of December 2025.
Are the April 2025 controls still in force?
Yes. The USGS says the April 2025 controls remained in effect at the end of 2025, although China began to issue general export licences to selected exporters. A general licence is a broader approval given to an exporter, rather than a permit for each separate case.
The USGS yttrium summary notes that in November the United States stated China would issue general licences, which the US described as effectively eliminating the April controls. The same report says the April rules were still on the books in December, so licensing eased for some exporters while the rules themselves stayed.
This guide covers events up to the USGS review and doesn't predict what China will do when the one-year suspension ends.
How much rare earth supply does China control?
China is the world's largest rare earth miner by a wide margin. The USGS estimates it mined 270,000 tons of rare-earth oxide equivalent in 2025, out of a world total of about 390,000 tons, or roughly 69% of global mine output.
The next largest producers in 2025 were:
- United States: 51,000 tons
- Australia: 29,000 tons
- Burma: 22,000 tons (estimated from China's import data)
- Thailand: 4,800 tons
China also has the largest reserves the USGS lists, at 44 million tons, out of a world total above 75 million tons. Heavy rare earths, which make up most of the elements covered in 2025, are less abundant than light rare earths, though the USGS notes they're elevated in some ores, including ion-adsorption clays.
How exposed is the United States?
US exposure is measured by net import reliance, which is the share of US consumption met by imports after subtracting exports. For rare-earth compounds and metals, the USGS puts it at 67% in 2025, up from 53% in 2024. Between 2021 and 2023 it was above 90%.
From 2021 to 2024, US imports of rare-earth compounds and metals came from these sources:
| Source | Share of US imports, 2021 to 2024 |
|---|---|
| China (including Hong Kong) | 71% |
| Malaysia | 13% |
| Japan | 5% |
| Estonia | 5% |
| Other | 6% |
The USGS adds that material from Estonia, Japan and Malaysia was made from concentrates and intermediates produced in Australia, China and elsewhere, which means some of the non-Chinese share started as Chinese feed.
The USGS heavy rare earths summary shows US net import reliance of 100% for heavy-rare-earth compounds and metals in every year from 2021 to 2025. Shipping records from 2021 to 2024 showed that all US imports of terbium, holmium and lutetium came from China.
Why do dysprosium and terbium matter so much?
Dysprosium and terbium belong to the heavy rare earths, a group the USGS says is used in high-strength magnets, among other things. Magnets were the leading global end use of rare earths in 2025, according to the USGS. Our guide Rare Earth Magnets Explained covers how magnet makers add these elements to help magnets work at high temperatures.
Heavy rare earths are also expensive. The USGS reports these average prices for 2025, free on board:
- Terbium oxide: US$1,010 per kilogram, up from US$812 in 2024
- Dysprosium oxide: US$239 per kilogram, down from US$257 in 2024
- Lutetium oxide: US$888 per kilogram, up from US$780 in 2024
Annual averages smooth out swings within the year, so they don't isolate the effect of any single policy step, but they do show the gap between heavy and light rare earth prices. NdPr oxide, a light rare earth product, averaged US$69 per kilogram in 2025.
What do the controls mean for companies outside China?
The controls add a licence step to the supply of a short list of materials, so manufacturers outside China that use controlled rare earths now depend on a licence decision made in China.
The USGS recorded these responses in 2025:
- At least five US companies were developing commercial-scale heavy-rare-earth processing and refining capacity. None produced sustained commercial-scale quantities in 2025.
- The US Department of War gave a Mountain Pass, California, producer a US$150 million loan to build a heavy-rare-earths separation facility.
- An Australian producer announced plans for a facility in Malaysia to separate heavy rare earths, including terbium, dysprosium and lutetium.
- The US International Development Finance Corporation approved a US$465 million loan to a Brazilian ionic clay producer to raise heavy rare earth output.
US domestic activity also grew. The USGS estimates US output of rare-earth compounds and metals rose to 8,900 tons in 2025, from 4,300 tons in 2024. Mine output was 51,000 tons, including bastnaesite mined at Mountain Pass.
By the end of 2025, no US company had reached sustained commercial-scale heavy rare earth output, and the US still imported most of the rare-earth compounds and metals it used. Our page on rare earth stocks lists rare earth companies working on deposits and processing outside China.
China Rare Earth Export Controls: frequently asked questions
What rare earths did China put export controls on in April 2025?
In April 2025, China added specific export controls on seven rare earths: samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium. The controls cover their alloys, compounds, metals and oxides. The USGS reported that these April controls were still in effect at the end of 2025.
Did China suspend its rare earth export controls?
China suspended only part of them. In November 2025 it suspended, for one year, the expanded controls it had announced in October, which added europium, holmium, erbium, thulium and ytterbium. The April 2025 controls stayed in place, though China began issuing general export licences to selected exporters.
How much of the world's rare earths does China mine?
The USGS estimates China mined 270,000 tons of rare-earth oxide equivalent in 2025. World mine production was about 390,000 tons, so China accounted for roughly 69%. China also holds the largest reserves listed by the USGS, at 44 million tons.
How dependent is the United States on rare earth imports?
The USGS puts US net import reliance for rare-earth compounds and metals at 67% of apparent consumption in 2025, up from 53% in 2024. From 2021 to 2024, China (including Hong Kong) supplied 71% of US imports of these materials. For heavy rare earths, net import reliance was 100% in every year from 2021 to 2025.
Do China's export controls ban rare earth exports?
No. Export controls mean exporters need permission from the Chinese government to ship the listed materials, rather than facing an outright ban. Shipments can continue under licence. In late 2025, China began issuing general licences to selected exporters, according to the USGS.
Sources
- USGS, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare earths
- USGS, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare earths (heavy)
- USGS, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Yttrium
Related guides
- What Is NdPr Oxide?The neodymium-praseodymium product that sets most rare earth project economics.
- How Rare Earths Are ProcessedFrom ore to concentrate to separated oxide to metal: the steps and who does them.
- Rare Earth RecyclingWhy so few rare earths are recycled today, how magnets are recovered, and how much recycling could supply.
- What Are Rare Earth Elements?Seventeen metals, most of them not rare at all. What they are and what they are used for.