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CNBC
15-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
China lifts export controls for 28 U.S. companies, but not key rare earths
China has temporarily paused export restrictions targeting 28 American companies on the heels of the trade truce Beijing reached with the Trump administration over the weekend in Switzerland. However, one key non-tariff countermeasure has yet to be reversed: export curbs on seven rare earth metals. According to the Geneva trade statement, China has agreed to "adopt all necessary administrative measures to suspend or remove the non-tariff countermeasures taken against the United States since April 2, 2025." One of those countermeasures is the rare earths export curbs. On April 4, China announced a package of retaliatory measures to President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs, including placing the export restrictions on samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium – elements that are important for America's defense, energy, and automotive industries. It is unclear why the rare earths controls were not included when the Chinese Commerce Ministry announced easing of other non-tariff countermeasures from April. On Wednesday, China removed 28 American companies from its export control list for dual-use items for 90 days. It also took 17 companies off its "unreliable entity list" including 11 for 90 days. On the same day, the Commerce Ministry issued a statement on China's efforts to clampdown on smuggling of rare earths and the need for broader government control of the metals for national security. "All departments agree that comprehensive control of strategic minerals is essential," it reads. The vast majority of the rare earth elements (REEs) imported to the United States come from China. They are viewed by Beijing as an effective leverage point in its trade negotiations with Washington. A social media account linked to the national broadcaster CCTV has been hinting of their importance around the trade talks. "With U.S. defense industries now 'strangled by rare earth shortages', what changes might occur in American weapons and equipment?" Yuyuantantian posted last Friday. Many of the 28 American companies given a reprieve on dual-use export restrictions are common targets for sanctions by Beijing, because of their activity in the defense sector. The first 16 of these companies were added to the Chinese export control list on April 4, days after Trump's announcement imposing steep tariffs on most products from China. Those companies include Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc.,Cyberlux Corporation, Hudson Technologies Inc., and Oceaneering International, Inc. Beijing added a dozen more companies to the export control list on April 9, the same day that Trump announced a three-month pause on tariffs for every country except China. The companies hit that day include Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc., Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems, Inc. and Insitu, Inc. Any company that wants to export dual-use items from China needs first to get approval from the country's Commerce Ministry. The 17 companies on the "unreliable entity list" are prohibited from importing to, or exporting from, China and from making new investments in the country. The companies given a reprieve from this list include several drone manufacturers such as Sierra Nevada Corp., and Kratos. China added 11 of those companies to the list on April 4, and another six on April 9.
Daily Tribune
07-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Tribune
China vows to stay 'safe and promising land' for foreign investment
A top Chinese official has vowed to protect US firms and pledged his country will remain a "promising land" for foreign investment, Beijing said Monday, after it slapped 34 percent tariffs on US imports. China retaliated last week against levies at the same level announced by US President Donald Trump on what he called "liberation day". It also imposed export controls on seven rare earth elements, including gadolinium -- commonly used in magnetic resonance imaging -- and yttrium, which is used in consumer electronics. Vice commerce minister Ling Ji told a panel of US company representatives on Sunday that the tariffs "firmly protect the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises, including American companies", his ministry said. Those levies -- which come into effect on Thursday -- "are aimed at bringing the United States back onto the right track of the multilateral trade system", he told the representatives, including of GE Healthcare and Medtronic. Also present was a representative of electric vehicle giant Tesla, run by close Trump advisor and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has extensive business interests in China. "The root cause of the tariff issue lies in the United States," Ling said. He urged the firms to "take pragmatic actions to jointly maintain the stability of global supply chains and promote mutual cooperation and win-win outcomes". The United States exported $144.6 billion in goods to China in 2024, much less than the $439.7 billion it imported, Commerce Department data shows. Among its exports, key sectors include electrical and electronic equipment and various fuels, alongside oilseed and grains. Trading floors were overcome by a wave of selling on Monday, in response to the showdown. The selling in Asia was across the board, with no sector unharmed -- tech firms, car makers, banks, casinos and energy firms all felt the pain as investors abandoned riskier assets. Among the biggest losers, Chinese e-commerce titans Alibaba tanked more than 14 percent and rival shed 13 percent, while Japanese tech investment giant SoftBank dived more than 10 percent and Sony gave up 9.6 percent.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China vows to stay 'safe and promising land' for foreign investment
A top Chinese official has vowed to protect US firms and pledged his country will remain a "promising land" for foreign investment, Beijing said Monday, after it slapped 34 percent tariffs on US imports. China retaliated last week against levies at the same level announced by US President Donald Trump on what he called "liberation day". It also imposed export controls on seven rare earth elements, including gadolinium -- commonly used in magnetic resonance imaging -- and yttrium, which is used in consumer electronics. Vice commerce minister Ling Ji told a panel of US company representatives on Sunday that the tariffs "firmly protect the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises, including American companies", his ministry said. Those levies -- which come into effect on Thursday -- "are aimed at bringing the United States back onto the right track of the multilateral trade system", he told the representatives, including of GE Healthcare and Medtronic. Also present was a representative of electric vehicle giant Tesla, run by close Trump advisor and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has extensive business interests in China. "The root cause of the tariff issue lies in the United States," Ling said. He urged the firms to "take pragmatic actions to jointly maintain the stability of global supply chains and promote mutual cooperation and win-win outcomes". The United States exported $144.6 billion in goods to China in 2024, much less than the $439.7 billion it imported, Commerce Department data shows. Among its exports, key sectors include electrical and electronic equipment and various fuels, alongside oilseed and grains. Trading floors were overcome by a wave of selling on Monday, in response to the showdown. The selling in Asia was across the board, with no sector unharmed -- tech firms, car makers, banks, casinos and energy firms all felt the pain as investors abandoned riskier assets. Among the biggest losers, Chinese e-commerce titans Alibaba tanked more than 14 percent and rival shed 13 percent, while Japanese tech investment giant SoftBank dived more than 10 percent and Sony gave up 9.6 percent. ll-oho/je/dhw
Zawya
04-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
China hits back at Trump tariffs with own taxes, export curbs
China on Friday announced a slew of countermeasures against tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, including additional tariffs of 34% on all U.S. goods and curbs on export of some rare earths, deepening an escalating trade war. China's finance ministry said the additional tariffs would be imposed from April 10. Trump on Wednesday announced that China would be hit with a 34% tariff, on top of the 20% he imposed earlier this year, bringing the total new levies to 54%. Agriculture trade took another hit as Chinese customs imposed an immediate suspension on imports of sorghums from grain exporter C&D (USA) Inc., as well as poultry and bonemeal from three U.S. firms. Beijing also announced controls on exports of medium and heavy rare-earths, including samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium to the United States, effective April 4. "The purpose of the Chinese government's implementation of export controls on relevant items in accordance with the law is to better safeguard national security and interests, and to fulfil international obligations such as non-proliferation," the commerce ministry said in a statement. It also added 16 U.S entities to its export control list, which prohibits the export of dual-use items to affected firms. Another 11 U.S. firms were added to the "unreliable entities" list, which allows Beijing to take punitive action against foreign entities. The targeted firms includes Skydio Inc. and BRINC Drones over arms sales to democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory. The commerce ministry said the targeted companies seriously "undermined" China's national sovereignty, security and development interests and would be prohibited from new investments, import and export activities in China. It also launched an anti-dumping probe into imports of certain medical CT tubes from the U.S. and India, and a wider industry competitiveness investigation into imports of medical CT tubes. (Reporting by Mei Mei Chu, Ethan Wang, Shi Bu and Xiuhao Chen; editing by Mark Heinrich and Alex Richardson)
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China hits back at US tariffs with rare earth export controls
By Lewis Jackson and Amy Lv BEIJING (Reuters) - China placed some rare earth elements under export restrictions on Friday as part of its response to President Donald Trump's tariff package, potentially cutting the U.S. off from critical minerals vital to everything from smartphones to electric car batteries. China produces around 90% of the world's refined rare earths, a group of 17 elements used across the defense, electric vehicle, clean energy and electronics industries. The United States imports most of its rare earths and most come from China. Seven categories of medium and heavy rare earths including samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium related items will be placed on an export control list as of April 4, according to a Ministry of Commerce release. The move, which affects exports to all countries, not just the U.S., is the latest demonstration of China's ability to weaponise its dominance over the mining and processing of the critical minerals. Beijing announced the controls late on Friday as part of a broader package of tariffs and company restrictions in retaliation for President Donald Trump's decision to hike tariffs against most Chinese products to 54%. Roughly three quarters of the rare earths the U.S. imports came from China between 2019 and 2022, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. While the export controls stop short of an outright ban, Beijing can throttle shipments by restricting the amount of export licenses it issues. China had exported no antimony to European Union countries as of March after imposing export controls on the metal last September. While common in the earth's crusts, China dominates the complex and dirty refining process and controls mining and output via a quota system that it has progressively tightened. Sign in to access your portfolio
