China tightens rare earth export controls targeting US companies
In June 2026, China added around ten US entities, including rare earth and magnet producers, to its export control list, banning, with immediate effect from 22 June 2026, Chinese exports of dual-use products to these entities. This measure adds to a licensing system in place since April 2025 that already restricts Chinese exports of seven rare earth elements.
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Since April 2025, China has subjected the export of seven rare earth elements to a licensing regime that curbs flows to the United States and to end users linked to allied military uses. On 22 June 2026, Beijing expanded its export control list to include around ten additional US entities, including rare earth and magnet producers, in response to US measures targeting Chinese companies linked to the military sector.
Since 1 December 2025, companies affiliated with foreign armed forces, including US ones, have been largely denied Chinese export licences, and any application explicitly intended for military use is automatically rejected, according to analyses from research centres specialising in critical mineral supply chains.
This licensing regime remained in force as of 27 September 2026 and continues to evolve through successive additions to China's control list; no general lifting has been announced to date for the entities already targeted.
Affected are US companies manufacturing rare earths, permanent magnets or electronic components dependent on these materials, as well as, more broadly, any North American importer of Chinese electronic or electrical products containing rare-earth-based magnets, whose component sourcing lead times and costs may be indirectly affected by tensions along this supply chain.
What it changes for an importer
For a client having electronic products, motors or equipment containing rare-earth-based magnets manufactured in China for the North American market, this context of fluctuating Chinese export licensing justifies checking upfront, factory by factory, whether a specific component is likely to be affected, and building in lead-time margins on the supply side. Sorva checks with its factory partners in China on the actual availability of components before launching an order, without being able to guarantee the outcome of a Chinese export licence application, which is a matter for the Chinese commerce authorities.
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