China is rolling back rare earth mineral restrictions, White House saus

The White House announced that following a recent trade agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, China will roll back its restrictions on rare earth minerals. Specifically, China will suspend export limitations and resume issuing general licenses for exporting rare earths, gallium, germanium, antimony, and graphite to benefit U.S. end users and their global suppliers. These measures effectively reverse the export controls China imposed in April 2025 and October 2022, which had required foreign companies to obtain licenses for even small quantities of these critical minerals. China is the world’s largest producer of rare earth minerals, essential for manufacturing various technology products. The previous Chinese restrictions had prompted the Trump administration to respond with plans for 100% tariffs on Chinese goods. However, as part of the new trade deal, the White House is now halting those tariff plans and pausing other tariffs on Chinese imports for one year, signaling a de-escalation in trade tensions related to critical mineral supplies.