Rare Earth Trade Report (September 2026)

China continued to heavily restrict global exports of export-controlled rare earth compounds and metals in August 2026. New data indicate that China’s global exports of rare earth compounds and metals covered by the PRC’s April 2025 export controls remained well below historical levels in August 2026.

• U.S.-bound exports decreased in August 2026 and remained well below pre-export control
  levels.
• China’s exports to Japan remained at zero for the third consecutive month in August 2026,
  continuing the trend of limited exports to Japan since China imposed additional export
  controls on shipments to Japan in January.
• Conversely, China’s exports to South Korea exceeded pre-export control levels in August

2026 as the country remained the largest global destination for China’s exports of
compounds and metals. China’s exports of rare earth magnets, which are only partially covered by China’s April 2025 export controls, have largely returned to pre-export control levels.

• Among major destinations, only the United States received a smaller volume of rare earthmagnets from January through August 2026 than during the same period in 2024.
• Total U.S. imports of sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets by
  weight were lower in H1 2026 than in H1 2024, though a modest increase in imports from other countries (particularly Japan) partially offset the decline in imports from China. The number of magnets imported increased, as imports appear to be shifting toward smaller
  magnets.