China’s exports of rare-earth products declined in October, marking the lowest monthly level since June, as Beijing and Washington work to finalize supply arrangements under their ongoing trade truce. Outbound shipments fell to 6,173 tons, according to customs data released on Tuesday, with rare-earth magnets — vital for electric vehicles, weapons, and advanced manufacturing — forming a significant portion of the total.
The drop comes as the US and China continue fleshing out details of a trade agreement reached by Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Seoul in late October. Negotiators from both sides have until the end of November to finalize terms for rare-earth supplies bound for the United States, sources familiar with the matter said.
Earlier in April, Beijing imposed export controls on several rare-earth materials, triggering months of supply disruptions, particularly for magnets, and raising concerns over production interruptions for global industries. Under the trade truce, China agreed to a one-year pause on stricter export restrictions and pledged to issue “general licenses” for materials already under control, according to the White House.
The customs data released Tuesday covers shipments to all destinations and does not provide a breakdown by geography or product type. More detailed figures are expected in another batch of data due on Thursday. Despite the initial sharp decline in shipments following the April export curbs — which placed seven rare-earths and related products under “dual use” controls to prevent military applications abroad — volumes have rebounded significantly. For the first ten months of 2025, total exports reached 53,289 tons, a modest 4% decline compared with the same period last year.
Earlier figures also showed that exports of less-processed rare-earth forms, such as oxides, rose in October from a seven-month low in September, reflecting a nuanced recovery in certain segments of China’s rare-earth industry.
