China’s exports of rare earths rose again in November, this time significantly, by more than 26 percent. According to data from the customs authority, 5,494 tons were shipped abroad, compared with 4,345.5 tons in October.
Since April, export controls have been in place for several elements in the rare earth group, including dysprosium and terbium. How exports of these specific materials developed in November will only become clear in a few weeks, when the authorities release the second data set for the past month.
Beijing recently signaled a possible simplification of the licensing system, as reported by Reuters and others. However, the government intends to maintain the system introduced in April, which is modeled on the one that has applied to gallium and germanium since the summer of 2023. Both sets of measures were justified on national security grounds, as rare earths and the aforementioned technology metals are considered dual-use goods that can serve both civilian and military applications.
Photo: iStock/Vera Tikhonova