The effects of the measures taken in April export restrictions introduced in China for certain rare earths and their connections are becoming increasingly apparent. The recently published data on foreign trade does not give the all-clear for Western industries, and this also applies to rare earth magnets. TRADIUM categorises the current development.
Presumably in response to the US government's announcement of high tariffs on Chinese goods, Beijing restricted the export of certain goods in April. Rare earths is newly regulated. The country is the most important producer of this group of raw materials and the effects of the trade restrictions are now becoming increasingly apparent: after the no dysprosium and terbium exported There was no recovery in June, according to the latest data from the customs authorities. Only one kilogramme of dysprosium and 1,200 kilogrammes of terbium went to South Korea, reported the industry portal rawmaterials.net. Exports to other countries did not take place.
Jan Giese, Senior Manager Minor Metals and Rare Earths, assesses the situation as follows: "Despite recent positive political signals, such as the talks between the USA and China in London or the visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister to Berlin, the export figures for dysprosium, terbium and rare earth magnets in June 2025 still show no easing. Although more magnets were exported than in the previous month, it is questionable whether these included high-performance magnets containing terbium and dysprosium. The low export volumes of both elements rather indicate that strict export restrictions continue to apply to these products. It is also striking that neither the USA nor European countries are among the countries supplied, but South Korea is. If the political signals are confirmed, an actual easing of the situation for European customers could be seen in one to two months at the earliest. At the moment, it is still too early to assume a return to normality."
Dysprosium and terbium are among the key raw materials for a wide range of high-tech sectors - including semiconductor production and chemical processes. However, they are particularly critical for the production of neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets, which are used in numerous future technologies. Although not all NdFeB magnets require these elements, they are almost indispensable for applications involving high loads and temperatures - for example in electric motors, wind turbines or military systems.
No recovery in sight for rare earth magnets either
China also has the world's largest share in the production of these rare earth magnets. The trade data now available also paints a worrying picture for Western industries, as exports in June are still well below the previous year's level despite an increase compared to the previous month of May.
The background to this is the lack of differentiation by the authorities between the various types of rare earth magnets. There is only one customs code for these high-tech components, regardless of whether or not they contain terbium, dysprosium or other rare earths covered by the restrictions. As early as June, the German and international automotive industry There are fears of production losses due to a lack of components, and some factories have even shut down their production lines. The all-clear cannot be given even after the most recent trade statistics were presented.
