China has halted the exports of critical rare earth minerals and magnets as the trade war with the United States expands.  Rare earth minerals are key to the semiconductor and auto industries worldwide, and they have come to a screeching halt amid an escalating trade war with the U.S.

China produces over 90 percent of some of the world’s most critical rare earth minerals such as yttrium, dysprosium, and terbium, and the new export restrictions sever their supply lines to users around the globe.

According to a report by The Independent, following President Donald Trump’s imposition of steep tariffs on Chinese goods, Beijing has restricted the export of seven rare earths and related materials used in the automotive, defence, and energy industries. Exporters in China are now required to apply to the Ministry of Commerce for licences, a process that could take anywhere from six or seven weeks to several months, according to sources.

One China rare earth trader, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters that: ” When my clients ask when their cargoes will be able to leave China, we give them an estimated time of 60 days, but it may actually take longer than that.”

“Nobody is getting ‘off the hook’ for the unfair trade balances and non-monetary tariff barriers that other countries have used against us, especially not China, which by far, treats us the worst!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. Trump added that he would announce the tariff rate on semiconductors next week.

“We wanted to uncomplicate it from a lot of other companies because we want to make our chips and semiconductors and other things in our country,” he said.

It is still unknown which products will gain exemptions from tariffs and which will see massive price increases. Unfortunately, everything relies on a global economic system, and tariffs will impact the cost of all goods, even those made in the United States.

Tariffs Bring Pain Without Gain