Highlights
- China’s rare earth permanent magnet exports dropped 18.9% in the first half of 2025.
- Export value declined by 29.7%.
- Export controls and geopolitical tensions have disrupted traditional supply chains.
- Significant declines in U.S. and EU-bound shipments.
- Veteran analysts suggest the rare earth supply chain landscape has fundamentally changed.
- Resilience strategies are gaining momentum.
China’s rare earth permanent magnet (REPM) exports plummeted in the first half of 2025, revealing fractures in global supply chains and an accelerating shift in geopolitical strategy. According to Reuters and Sina, China exported 22.32 million kg (22,319 tons**)** of REPMs from January to June—down 18.9% year-over-year. Export value dropped even more steeply by 29.7% to just over $1.02 billion, due in large part to slumping NdPr oxide prices and shrinking volumes of high-value Dy/Tb-heavy magnets. The European Union retained its position as China’s top customer, importing 8.36 million kg (–22.4%) valued at $348.1 million (–32.9%). In contrast, U.S.-bound exports declined to 2.51 million kg (–30.6%) and just $103.7 million (–39.9%), making up only 11% of China’s June magnet exports.
The damage was not limited to exports. As Antaike and Chinese customs data and other important sources reviewed by Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) confirm, imports of rare earth concentrates into China fell 33.5% YoY to 18,700 tons, mainly due to MP Materials halting shipments to China in April. U.S. concentrate exports to China dropped from 1,073 tons in May to zero in June. Imports of refined separation products from Myanmar—already strained by political instability—also tumbled. Despite this, China remained the global RE lynchpin: H1 2025 exports included 32,000 tons of RE separation products (+11.3%) and 22,000 tons of REPMs (–19%). Lanthanum and cerium-based compounds dominated the RE oxide and salt exports. The U.S. and Japan remained key buyers, while Vietnam, Laos, and Malaysia supplied most of China’s inbound oxide and compound imports.
April’s sudden imposition of Chinese export controls on medium- and heavy-REE magnets—partly in response to new U.S. tariffs (President Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’)—wreaked havoc: REPM exports collapsed from 2,626 tons in April to 1,238 tons in May, before rebounding to 3,188 tons in June. Yet even with easing trade talks and partial license recovery in June, damage lingers. Tb/Dy-heavy magnet exports to the U.S. fell hard, while La/Ce-heavy light RE exports surged 54.5%, accounting for 80% of U.S.-bound separation volumes. Veteran analysts privately share with REEx that the old supply chain status quo “won’t return.” Even if a Trump-Xi summit materializes this fall, the rare earth resilience agenda—particularly in the U.S.—has gained too much momentum to reverse.
REEx reviewed and the following sources. Antaike (opens in a new tab), China Briefing (opens in a new tab), General Administration of Custom’s, People’s Republic of China (opens in a new tab), Ginger (opens in a new tab), Rare Earth Observer (opens in a new tab), South China Morning Post (opens in a new tab)
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