EU industry could grind to a halt over China’s rare earth restrictions

Influential European lobby group says it senses Beijing is overwhelmed with applications to export the highly sought-after minerals

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A labourer works at the site of a rare earth metals mine in Jiangxi province. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:44pm, 4 Jun 2025Updated: 7:09pm, 4 Jun 2025

Chinese government restrictions on the export of rare earth elements have forced some European companies to halt production using the highly sought-after minerals essential for making smartphones and electric vehicles.

The measures announced by Beijing on April 4 were seen as retaliation against US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs”, but European industry now warns it is being caught in the crossfire.

The EU Chamber of Commerce in China has held several meetings with China’s Ministry of Commerce, its secretary general Adam Dunnett told the South China Morning Post, and senses Beijing is overwhelmed with applications to export the minerals.

“Thousands of applications need to be reviewed but the ministry’s resources are limited. We’ve seen a sprinkling of approvals in the last week, but some companies have lodged dozens of applications … some have had to stop production,” Dunnett, also vice-chair of the European Business Organisation, told journalists in Brussels on Tuesday.

Rare earths consist of 17 elements. On April 4, Beijing added seven of these – dysprosium, gadolinium, lutetium, samarium, scandium, terbium and yttrium – to its export control list, plus several rare earth magnets, two days after Trump announced “reciprocal tariffs”.