The new restrictions, announced by China’s Ministry of Commerce, will prohibit U.S. defense contractors from receiving Chinese rare-earth materials and ban the export of technologies related to extraction, processing, magnet production, and equipment servicing. For the first time, they will also apply to products that use Chinese components, even those already exported.
China accounts for over two-thirds of global rare-earth output—a group of 17 metals critical for manufacturing technologies ranging from electric vehicle motors and radar systems to the semiconductors that power artificial intelligence. Analysts say China’s dominance in this field has eroded the U.S.’s competitive edge, prompting both the Biden and Trump administrations to respond with their own export restrictions and industrial incentives.
