Latest news with #exportcurbs
Reuters
17 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
China's rare earth magnet shipments halve in May due to export curbs
BEIJING, June 20 (Reuters) - China's overseas shipments of rare earth magnets halved in May from April, tumbling to their lowest levels in more than five years due to export curbs. Beijing said this month that it would speed up its approval process, a concession made after the U.S. and China agreed to dial back trade tensions. In the meantime, however, industry sources say Chinese customs officials have become increasingly cautious about processing rare earth cargoes. This is particularly so for rare earth magnets because there is only a single code to cover magnets despite there being a variety of chemistries, said the sources who were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified. China, the world's largest rare earth magnet producer accounting for over 90% of global supply, decided in early April to impose restrictions on exports of seven medium-to-heavy rare earth products and some magnets. That's rocked supply chains crucial to auto, aerospace, semiconductor and military equipment sectors around the world. Last month, China shipped out 1,238 metric tons of rare earth permanent magnets, down 52.9% from April and the lowest level for a single month since February 2020, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Friday. April's shipments had also halved from March. On a year-on-year basis, May shipments were down 74%. Sources have also previously said that customs are holding up some shipments of lower-performance rare earth magnets used in appliances and consumer electronics because of confusion over how to apply Beijing's export curbs. China's commerce ministry said on Thursday that "a certain number" of rare earth export licence applications had been approved but did not disclose details. Chinese rare earth magnet producers JL MAG Rare-Earth ( opens new tab and Innuovo Technology ( opens new tab announced in recent weeks that they have secured a few export licenses for some clients. Exports of rare earth magnets for January-May slipped 14.5% from the same period last year to 19,132 tons, the lowest for the period since 2021.
Reuters
12-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Synopsys restarts some China services, sales of core tools still blocked, source says
BEIJING, June 12 (Reuters) - Synopsys (SNPS.O), opens new tab has resumed offering some services in China, relaxing a suspension it implemented earlier this month to comply with new U.S. export curbs, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. As tensions flared between the world's two largest economies last month, Washington ordered a broad range of companies to stop shipping goods to China. The decision led Synopsys, a California-based provider of semiconductor design software, to halt sales and services in China and shut down access to its SolvNet customer support site. Synopsys resumed some services last week, however, including sales of non-core hardware and intellectual property that allow it to serve some existing clients, said the source, who declined to be named as they were not permitted to speak to the media. Synopsys did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. SolvNet has also reopened with restrictions, including limits on access to some Electronic Design Automation software-related documents, the source added. But sales of essential EDA tools remain suspended, meaning that Synopsys will still be unable to attract new customers as its intellectual property and hardware cannot be put to use, the source said. The IP consists of code the company sells to users for chip design, while the hardware systems such as HAPS and ZeBu are part of Synopsys' hardware-assisted verification product portfolio, primarily used for verification of acceleration processes. EDA software is used to compile IP and other designs onto hardware. Synopsys, along with Cadence (CDNS.O), opens new tab and Siemens EDA ( opens new tab, dominates the EDA software chipmakers can use to design semiconductors for everything from smartphones to computers and cars. The three companies control more than 70% of China's EDA market, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported in April. Long-term restrictions on Chinese chip design companies' access to the tools would deal a significant blow to the industry in China. Synopsys suspended its annual and quarterly forecasts after the U.S. implemented the restrictions, as they cast uncertainty over its ability to sell chip design software in China.
Bloomberg
11-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
US Makes Export Controls Negotiable as Part of China Trade Talks
Trade talks between the US and China this week cemented a seismic change in Washington's approach to the countries' economic relationship: US export curbs, meant to keep sensitive technologies out of Beijing's hands, are now explicitly up for negotiation. At the heart of the policy shift is China's stranglehold over rare earths and its decision to restrict supply to American manufacturers reliant on the key inputs.
Reuters
04-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
What to know about China's rare earth export controls
BEIJING, June 4 (Reuters) - Global manufacturers have raised the alarm on China's decision to curb exports of rare earths alloys, mixtures and magnets. Here is an overview of rare earths and China's measures: Rare earths are a group of 17 silvery-white elements. One of their most important uses is in making magnets that power motion for cars, cell phones, missiles and other electronics. While not rare in the sense of being uncommon, they tend to occur in small quantities or mixed with other minerals, making extraction difficult and costly. China mines about 60% of the world's rare earths and makes 90% of rare earth magnets. It sets quotas on output, smelting, and separation, which are monitored as a barometer of global supply. One of the most difficult processing steps is separating individual rare earths from each other. While U.S. scientists helped developed a process called solvent extraction in the 1950s, radioactive waste made it unpopular in the United States. Spurred by the government, China has expanded the industry since the 1980s, spending the last 30 years mastering solvent extraction, while cheap labour and relatively lax environmental standards give it a cost advantage. China has put bans, opens new tab on its technologies for separating rare earths as well as producing magnets. New separation technologies are being developed but are not yet widely used. On April 4, China added seven of the 17 rare earths metals - such as samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium-related items - to a list of export controls two days after President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs took U.S. trade barriers to their highest in a century. Exporters have to apply for a licence that industry sources say can take two to three months or longer, and shipments have been halted at many Chinese ports as applications are processed. On May 13, China agreed to remove recent non-tariff countermeasures issued after April 2, which includes the rare earth curbs, as part of a temporary tariff deal, U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer said. However, since then, Greer has said China was "slow-rolling" their removal, and Trump complained that China violated the deal. China has defended its export curbs as "non-discriminatory" and not targeted at any specific country. The foreign ministry told media on Friday that China was ready for talks on the issue with relevant nations. Global automakers have warned that the measures could cause production delays and widespread shutdowns because rare earths are employed in key components, such as automatic transmissions and power steering.
Reuters
26-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Chinese customs caution slows some rare earth magnet exports, sources say
BEIJING, May 26 (Reuters) - Chinese customs are holding up some shipments of lower-performance rare earth magnets used in appliances and consumer electronics because of confusion over how to apply Beijing's export curbs, according to three sources. Rare earth magnets blend elements from the family of 17 elements and the mix determines performance. High-performance types go into cars, wind turbines and fighter jets with weaker ones used in consumer electronics and household appliances. However, China's customs website only lists a single code for rare earth magnets, despite their different chemistries. When Beijing restricted exports of several high-performance types along with other rare earths in April, it excluded some low-performance ones. Customs officials have nonetheless barred at least two shipments because they share the same code identifier, said two sources familiar with the matter. The shipments had still not left China even after the exporters provided documents showing there were no curbs on the types of magnets involved, said the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, as the matter is a sensitive one. China's commerce ministry and customs did not respond to Reuters request for comment. European auto parts and appliance maker Bosch said bottlenecks in the supply of rare earths key for both electric motors and consumer goods were affecting its suppliers, who had to furnish a lot of detailed information to get export licences. "The process for our suppliers to apply for export licences for various rare earths ... since April, is complex and time-consuming, partly due to the need to collect and provide a lot of information," a Bosch spokesperson said. Not all exports are affected by the customs delays, however, with officials of appliance makers Electrolux and Smeg both telling Reuters they were not facing issues. Customs data shows China's exports of permanent magnets fell 51% to 2,626 tons in April, the first month of data following the curbs. Exports were 15,267 tons in the year's first quarter.
