Critical minerals · China export licensing
China's export controls on rare earths and battery materials
Some of China's controls on rare earths, critical metals and battery technology are in force today. A larger package from October 2025 is suspended, on a date that has a political extension but not yet a legal one. This page separates the two, with each measure's announcement number so you can check it.
How to read Chinese export-control notices
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) issues each measure as a numbered announcement, often jointly with the General Administration of Customs. Among the measures below, only Announcement No. 18 of 2025 has an official English text on MOFCOM's English site, and MOFCOM marks even that one "for reference only"; the Chinese text is authentic. The other descriptions on this page are our English summaries of Chinese-only texts, with links to the originals.
Since December 1, 2024, the controlled items sit in one Dual-Use Items Export Control List (Announcement No. 51 of 2024), licensed under State Council Decree No. 792. The same announcement repealed the separate 2023–2024 notices on gallium, germanium, graphite and antimony and moved their items into the list. Articles that still cite those older notice numbers as live are out of date; the items remain controlled under the list.
In force today
| Measure | What it controls | Since |
|---|---|---|
| No. 18 of 2025 (English text available) | Seven medium and heavy rare earths: samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, yttrium. Includes samarium-cobalt magnet material and NdFeB magnet material containing terbium or dysprosium. | April 4, 2025 |
| No. 10 of 2025 | Tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium items | February 4, 2025 |
| Dual-use list (No. 51 of 2024) | Gallium, germanium, antimony, graphite (including natural flake and spherical graphite) and superhard-material items: a license is needed for every destination | Controlled since 2023–2024 |
| No. 46 of 2024, clause 1 | Ban on dual-use exports to US military end users or military end uses | December 3, 2024 |
The April 2025 rare-earth controls were never suspended. A magnet buyer whose material contains terbium or dysprosium has needed its Chinese supplier to hold a license since April 2025, whatever happens in November.
Suspended, and until when
Two separate suspensions run out on two different dates. Reports that mix them up are common.
| Suspended measure | What it would control | Suspended until |
|---|---|---|
| No. 55 of 2025 | Superhard materials (synthetic diamond powder and crystals, wire saws, grinding wheels, related equipment) | November 10, 2026, by No. 70 of 2025 |
| No. 56 of 2025 | Rare-earth production equipment and processing reagents | |
| No. 57 of 2025 | Five more rare earths: holmium, erbium, thulium, europium, ytterbium | |
| No. 58 of 2025 | Lithium-ion cells and packs at 300 Wh/kg or more, cathode and artificial-graphite anode materials, cell-making equipment, anode process technology | |
| No. 61 of 2025 | Licenses for foreign companies re-exporting goods made abroad that contain 0.1% or more by value of Chinese-origin rare-earth items | |
| No. 62 of 2025 | Rare-earth mining, separation, magnet-making and recycling technology | |
| No. 46 of 2024, clause 2 | US only: presumed denial for gallium, germanium, antimony and superhard materials; stricter review for graphite | November 27, 2026, by No. 72 of 2025 |
Announcement No. 61 is the one with reach outside China. While it was in force it would have required a foreign company, not only the Chinese exporter, to obtain a MOFCOM license before shipping certain goods between two other countries. Announcement No. 62 and one part of No. 61 were briefly in force from October 9, 2025 until the suspension took effect on November 7, 2025.
The November 10 date: extended politically, not yet legally
On September 28, 2026, MOFCOM published its account of the latest China–US talks: both sides agreed to extend the Kuala Lumpur arrangement, under which each side had suspended some of its tariff and non-tariff measures until November 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027 (MOFCOM, in Chinese). In April 2026 MOFCOM had tied the export-control suspension to that same arrangement.
But as of October 14, 2026, no numbered announcement amending No. 70 appears on MOFCOM's list, its page still reads November 10, 2026, and the September statement does not mention export controls or rare earths. Nothing we found extends the November 27 date for the US-specific clause. Watch MOFCOM's announcement list in the first days of November.
The tariff side of the same arrangement is covered on what the November 2026 deadline changes.
How licensing works for a buyer outside China
- The Chinese exporter applies, to MOFCOM. The buyer cannot apply for it (Announcement No. 18; Decree No. 792).
- The buyer supplies the end-user and end-use certificate. Article 24 of Decree No. 792 requires one issued by the end user, and MOFCOM may also ask for certification by the end user's government. The end user may not change the use or pass the items on without MOFCOM's permission.
- Review time: MOFCOM must decide within 45 working days of accepting an application (Article 17), but time for expert review or site checks is not counted. MOFCOM publishes no typical approval time.
- License types: a single license covers one end user and one export and lasts up to one year; a general license covers repeated exports to one or more end users for up to three years. MOFCOM said in December 2025 that some general licenses for rare-earth exports had been approved (press conference, in English).
- Verification: an importer or end user that does not cooperate with end-use checks can be put on a watch list, which removes the general license and the 45-day limit.
- Customs: the exporter must declare the control code, and goods are held while customs questions a declaration.
The English text of Decree No. 792 used here is the translation published by Georgetown University's CSET; the authentic text is the Chinese one on gov.cn.
A separate change: China's battery export rebate ends
Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration Announcement No. 2 of 2026 cut the VAT export rebate on battery products from 9% to 6% for exports from April 1 to December 31, 2026, and abolishes it from January 1, 2027 (tax administration text, in Chinese). The rate follows the export date on the customs declaration. It is not an export control, but it raises a Chinese exporter's cost, and suppliers may try to pass that through in 2027 prices.
For the US duties on the same batteries, see tariffs on lithium-ion batteries from China. Every date above is also on the trade-rule calendar.
Sources: MOFCOM and General Administration of Customs announcements as linked, read on mofcom.gov.cn on October 14, 2026; State Council Decree No. 792; MOF/STA Announcement No. 2 of 2026. Chinese texts are authentic; the summaries are ours. This is general information, not legal or export-compliance advice.
Last checked 2026-10-14