US business group says some critical minerals are 'nearly unobtainable' from China

US access to critical minerals from China remains difficult due to export controls and licensing delays, a US business lobby said on Wednesday, with Beijing’s restrictions driving three-quarters of impacted companies to search for new supplies.

Introduced in April 2025 in retaliation for US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Beijing’s controls tightly restrict exports of certain rare earths crucial for advanced manufacturing.

That’s despite Trump’s deal with China’s Xi Jinping in October in which the White House said China committed to “effectively eliminate” all current and proposed critical mineral export controls.

The US-China Business Council said in a report that some rare earth elements remain “nearly unobtainable.”

“Despite some progress, confidence in longer term access remains low,” USCBC said based on results of its annual member survey conducted in February and March.

According to its survey, of 38 impacted companies, 29 percent said they were actively shifting to non-Chinese suppliers of critical minerals while 47 percent said they were searching for but had not yet found viable alternatives to China.

“China is forcing this diversification away from China and creating a strong interest on the part of the corporate sector to find alternatives,” USCBC President Sean Stein told Reuters.

China’s dominance over critical minerals has brought the rival countries to at least a temporary trade war truce, but the Trump administration has made a concerted push to revive mineral supply chains from the US and partner countries.

Stein said it would be difficult for the US, despite those efforts, to eliminate supply issues over the next three years. Samarium cobalt magnets, important for high-temperature aerospace and defense applications, and yttrium and cadmium were among minerals that were still very difficult for US companies to access, Stein said.

Kyle Sullivan, USCBC vice president, said securing finished rare earth magnets - not just the minerals themselves - was a challenge due to China’s hold over both mining and processing.

“That’s the perfect case for congressional involvement, because it can’t be solved by the Trump administration alone,” Stein said.

Uncertainty in US-China relations is suppressing companies’ investments in China, Stein added, with the report noting that “just half” (49 percent) of 134 companies plan to invest in China this year.

“China’s business environment for foreign companies is not improving. The country’s support for domestic companies, including through industrial policy and preferential treatment in government procurement, is eroding the gains from formal market access openings,” the USCBC report said.

Reuters

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