21 Apr 2025
China’s hitting back at Trump’s 145% tariffs by choking off exports of rare earths — the weird metals your car, wind turbine, and fighter jet desperately need.
That includes stuff like dysprosium and terbium which power the super-strong magnets in EV motors and defense tech.
China’s latest export controls on rare earth minerals could cause shutdowns in automotive production, with stockpiles of essential magnets set to run out within months if Beijing fully chokes off exports.
Beijing expanded its export restrictions to seven rare earth elements and magnets vital for electric vehicles, wind turbines and fighter jets in early April in retaliation for US President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs of 145 per cent on China.
Government officials, traders and auto executives said that, with inventories estimated to last between three and six months, companies would be racing to stockpile more material and find alternative supplies to avoid major disruption.
Jan Giese, a metals trader at Frankfurt-based Tradium, warned that customers had been caught off guard and most car groups and their suppliers appear to be holding only two to three months’ worth of magnets.
“If we don’t see magnet deliveries to the EU or Japan in that time or at least close to that, then I think we will see genuine problems in the automotive supply chain,” said Giese.
Source: FT
