In order to safeguard national security and interests and fulfill international obligations such non-proliferation, China issued the Announcement No. 18 of 2025 of The Ministry of Commerce and The General Administration of Customs of The People’s Republic of China Announcing the decision to implement export control on some medium and heavy rare earth related items on April 4, 2025. According to that announcement, seven rare earth elements (REEs) including samarium (Sm), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), lutetium (Lu), scandium (Sc) and yttrium (Y) related items were immediately implemented export control from the date of issuance.
China issued another Announcement No. 57 of 2025 of The Ministry of Commerce and The General Administration of Customs of The People’s Republic of China Announcing the decision to implement export control on some medium and heavy rare earth related items on October 9, 2025 (Chinese version available only). According to that announcement, five REEs including holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), europium (Eu) and ytterbium (Yb) related items should be implemented export control from November 8, 2025. Later, that announcement was suspended to implement until November 10, 2026 according to the Announcement No. 70 of 2025 of The Ministry of Commerce and The General Administration of Customs of The People’s Republic of China issued on November 7, 2025.
Rare Earth Magnets subject to Export Control
Rare earth magnets have samarium cobalt (SmCo) magnets and neodymium (NdFeB) magnets. As of the writing date (November 27, 2025), affected by the above polices, SmCo magnets, Gd-containing NdFeB magnets, Tb-containing NdFeB magnets and Dy-containing NdFeB magnets are subject to export control, their dual-use item control numbers are 1C902.a.4, 1C903.a.2, 1C904.a.4 and 1C905.a.4, respectively.
All SmCo magnets contain medium rare earth element (MREE) Sm while some NdFeB magnets contain heavy rare element elements (HREEs) Gd, Tb, Dy and/or Ho, those rare earth magnets can be used in the field of national defense and military industry due to their high temperature resistance, high thermal stability or low temperature coefficients. To export those magnets, the exporter shall apply for licenses from the Ministry of Commerce of The People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM). Any magnets to be used in the storing, processing, producing and treating of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems are prohibited from export.
Except for those export-controlled magnets, other sintered NdFeB magnets containing light rare earth elements (LREEs) including neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), lanthanum (La) and/or cerium (Ce) and all bonded NdFeB magnets can be exported as usual without licenses because they are free of HREEs and Sm.
Steps to Apply for an Export License for Rare Earth Magnets
To export those rare earth magnets under the above described dual-use item control numbers, it is required a corresponding export license for each shipment. The overall process for applying for license export for dual-use items is as follows.
The first step is to prepare the application documents: 1) application form for export license for dual-use items, 2) proof of identity of the applicant, 3) contract, 4) technical description of dual-use items, 5) end-user and end-use certificate, 6) introduction to the importer and the end-user, and 7) other explanatory documents if necessary. The importer should provide the End-User and End-Use Certificate and the Introduction to the Importer and the End-User to the exporter, the original of the former is required to ship to the exporter.
The second step is for the exporter to submit all the application documents to the Provincial Department of Commerce (PDC). The PDC will conduct a preliminary review of them and determine whether they are standardized and sufficient. If passed, the PDC will transfer them to the MOFCOM within 2 working days.
The third step is for the MOFCOM to conduct a comprehensive review of all the application documents. The core review is usually completed within 45 working days, sometimes it may take longer.
Finally, a license will be issued within 1 working day once the MOFCOM approves the review.
