United States: In a signal drenched with geopolitical weight, China on Friday indicated its readiness to restart the outflow of rare earth materials to the United States—just hours after US officials signposted the conclusion of an intense trade compromise. This rare détente marks a significant detour from the simmering economic standoff that had spiraled into a raw clash over industrial lifelines.
Rare earths—those elusive elements threaded through smartphones, missiles, and electric motors—had morphed into the battleground of trade hostilities between the globe’s two dominant economies. Their tug-of-war had escalated from tariff theatrics to strategic hoarding, with both nations flexing for supply dominance.
China’s Ministry of Commerce, responding to inquiries hinting at a resumption of exports, announced it would “process and endorse applications for regulated commodities that satisfy statutory mandates.” In parallel, the US is expected to peel back a suite of constraints slapped on Beijing during earlier stages of the standoff, according to the reports by CNN.
The ministry’s communiqué landed after President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick both acknowledged the pact had materialized, building on groundwork quietly laid earlier in London. There, negotiators struck a skeletal framework, awaiting top-tier blessings from President Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping.
Lutnick, speaking to Bloomberg, confirmed China’s commitment: “They’re dispatching rare earths to us. Once that’s in motion, we’ll dismantle our countermeasures”—referring to the curbs Washington installed in May after accusing China of freezing rare earth flows despite prior understandings brokered in Geneva.
At a public function on Thursday, Trump succinctly stated, “we just signed with China yesterday,” but refrained from diving into particulars.
On Friday, Beijing’s commerce apparatus issued a cautiously worded olive branch, underscoring hopes for “amplifying shared ground, untangling discord, advancing synergies, and collectively steering Sino-American trade ties toward a resilient and enduring trajectory.”
Rare Earths: The Strategic Fulcrum
According to the International Energy Agency, China controls an overwhelming 90% of the rare earth refinement sphere—an unrivaled grip that has proven both asset and pressure point.
The latest truce attempts to resurrect an earlier pact etched in Geneva, where both powers agreed to deflate an inflationary tariff spiral that had birthed an informal trade blockade. That temporary calm evaporated when Washington expressed displeasure at China’s continued clampdown on rare earth exports, following reciprocal US tariffs applied in April.
In retaliation, the US applied export freezes on semiconductors, ethane, aviation components, and floated visa cancellations targeting Chinese scholars. Beijing countered with accusations of American backpedaling, insisting it had upheld its side of the deal, as per CNN.
Renewed dialogue in London rekindled hope. Trump soon declared a deal had taken form, hinging only on mutual ratification. The draft included mutual easing of export restrictions and allowances for Chinese students to re-enter American academic corridors.
“China will front-load magnetics and vital rare earth components,” Trump posted on social media, signaling a forward-leaning shift.
This week, Reuters disclosed that the US Commerce Department authorized ethane cargoes to begin their journey toward Chinese ports. However, offloading remains embargoed without express clearance—a possible indicator that sanctions may be unfastening soon.
Since April, under a fresh licensing protocol, China has mandated exporters to secure clearances for each individual consignment, along with proof of end-use legitimacy.
Despite assurances that licensing procedures have accelerated for compliant cases, insiders relay that businesses still grapple with erratic access to these elemental cornerstones—especially permanent magnets. Meanwhile, China’s policy still bars defense-linked transactions, meaning American military contractors remain walled off from this critical supply chain.