Latest news with #export restrictions
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Beijing keeps up rare earths pressure on Trump
China is restricting the export of critical minerals to the US as it seeks to maintain pressure on the White House ahead of trade talks this week. Despite Donald Trump striking a deal with Beijing to resume rare earths imports last month, new figures show that China has restored trade at a far slower pace than with Europe and the rest of Asia. China exported 3,188 tonnes of rare earth magnets worldwide in June, representing a 158pc jump from May. Of that total, 353 tonnes went to the US, an almost sevenfold increase from the previous month's low of 46 tonnes. But the average monthly shipment to the US in the first three months of this year was 622 tonnes, suggesting trade is barely back to half the typical level. The June tonnage was also still 52pc below the amount shipped to the US in the same month last year, representing the largest year-on-year decline of any of China's major magnet customers. Germany, the largest buyer, received 764 tonnes, up almost threefold from May and down just 25pc year-on-year. Poland, France, Hungary and South Korea also received large boosts to shipments, and had lower year-on-year declines than the US. 'While China's relationship with the US seems to be warming, Beijing will continue to keep a tight grip on critical mineral exports,' said Leah Fahy of Capital Economics. China dominates the production and processing of rare earths, and controls most of the world's supply of rare-earth magnets used in military weapons, renewable energy generation and electric vehicles. When Mr Trump threatened China with wide-ranging tariffs of up to 145pc earlier this year, Beijing responded by halting rare earths exports. This led to the President quickly caving in amid criticism from American manufacturers. He said on June 11 that he would slash tariffs to restore full access to rare earths. Meanwhile, Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng will meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday for two days of trade talks in Stockholm. Mr Bessent has described the two superpowers' trading relationship as 'in a good place', with reports emerging late on Sunday that they have agreed to extend their truce on tariffs by another 90 days. It had been expected to expire on August 12. Ahead of the talks, Mr Bessent has said he wants to address China's purchases of Russian and Iranian oil. Mr Trump has threatened 100pc tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil. If this levy were imposed on China, by far the biggest buyer, it could reignite the trans-Pacific trade war, and risk jeopardising rare-earth trade once again. Ms Lahy said China's rare-earth powers might diminish over time. 'There's only so many times China can go back and forth, using it as a way to get things out of the US, without annoying the US even more,' she said. 'And even if China starts supplying as many rare earths as it did before, the genie is out of the bottle. The West knows that China can limit its exports of these goods whenever, so they're going to look to diversify their supply chains.' Mr Bessent also wants to confront Mr He in Stockholm about what he said was 'overcapacity' at Chinese factories. The US Treasury has criticised Beijing for lavishing subsidies on its manufacturing industry. By skewing the Chinese economy towards production and exports ahead of consumption, this helps fuel China's hefty trade surplus with the US – which Mr Trump loathes. Beijing is taking steps to address this.
South China Morning Post
16-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
How easing of AI chip controls could reshape US-China trade talks
The United States' decision to ease export restrictions on certain advanced chips – part of a broader package of trade agreements with China – is seen by experts as an early sign that high-level negotiations have steered bilateral relations in the right direction. Washington's move to resume license application reviews for Nvidia's H20 AI and Advanced Micro Devices's MI308 AI chips comes ahead of talks between senior officials from both nations in the coming weeks, despite a protracted strategic stand-off over tech and export controls. Zhuang Bo, global macro strategist at Loomis Sayles Investment Asia, said the development was a clear win for China – effectively resetting the clock to March, before rare earths became a geopolitical chokepoint. 'It signals that Beijing is inching closer to the G2-style negotiations it has long sought, framed in official rhetoric as a call for 'mutual respect and equality.'' While the reality on the ground has not changed much, the situation has not deteriorated, he added. 'Whether there will be a Xi-Trump summit later this year will be crucial. If that happens, a partial agreement is still possible.' On Tuesday, AMD said the US Department of Commerce was reviewing its licence applications to export MI308 chips to China, and that sales would resume once approved.
Bloomberg
16-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
ASML CFO Says Easing China AI Chip Controls Would Boost Demand
ASML Holding NV Chief Financial Officer Roger Dassen said on an earnings call Wednesday it will be 'positive for chip demand' if Washington lifts restrictions on some artificial intelligence processors. This week Nvidia Corp. said it received assurances that the US government will allow the export of some chips to the Asian nation that had previously been blocked. Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Nvidia's chief rival, followed with a similar announcement.
Malay Mail
15-07-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
China tightens export curbs on some battery technologies
BEIJING, July 15 — China tightened export restrictions on certain battery materials technologies today, as Beijing pulls ahead in the emergent sector despite its trade war with the United States. The two economic superpowers have traded barbs this year over export curbs, with Washington notably raising the threshold for selling high-end semiconductors to China. US President Donald Trump's administration has also accused Beijing of hindering exports of rare earths in retaliation against sweeping tariffs it imposed on Chinese goods. Beijing's commerce ministry announced today several adjustments to a list of technologies subject to export curbs. It marked as 'restricted' a technology for preparing battery cathode materials, meaning it cannot be exported without special permission. The ministry also added five more 'control points' to an already-restricted non-ferrous metallurgy technology involved in lithium mining and refining. 'This adjustment... is aimed at safeguarding national economic security and development interests, and promoting international economic and technological cooperation,' the ministry said. China leads the world in the production of lithium-ion batteries used to power electric vehicles—another sector in which it is a major player. Its alleged soft-pedalling on exports of rare earths—crucial materials for making electronics and other goods—came as the United States ramped up restrictions on the export of cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China. Beijing received a modest boost on that front today when US tech giant Nvidia said it expected to be granted a licence to sell one of its less-powerful AI chips to the Asian nation. — AFP
