China extends rare-earth export-control pause through Jan. 10, 2027

China will keep six October 2025 rare-earth export-control announcements suspended from Nov. 11, 2026, through Jan. 10, 2027. The Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs said in a Monday notice that the measures "continue to be suspended" through that date. The ministry gave no other details.

The extension follows the one-year pause agreed after Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met in South Korea in late 2025. That pause had been due to end Nov. 10, 2026. It now aligns Beijing's action with a separate U.S. postponement.

On the same day, Beijing extended its suspension of a 24% tariff on U.S. goods and port fees on U.S. ships by two months. Two days earlier, Washington pushed its 50% Affiliates export rule to the same Jan. 10 date. The synchronized deadlines put several trade-sensitive export rules on a common timetable.

Which export controls are frozen?

All six announcements were published on Oct. 9, 2025. Their scope covers materials, manufacturing equipment, magnets, licensing and support for overseas production.

• Announcement No. 55 covers synthetic diamond and other superhard materials and equipment.
• No. 56 covers rare-earth production and processing equipment.
• No. 57 adds licensing for medium and heavy rare earths, including holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium, along with their magnets.
• No. 58 covers lithium battery, cathode and graphite anode materials and equipment.
• No. 61 is the extraterritorial rule. It reaches foreign-made products containing at least 0.1% Chinese-origin rare-earth content by value.
• No. 62 controls rare-earth technologies and support for overseas rare-earth production.

The pause sets a fixed end date for the six notices. It does not change their underlying scope, and the ministry did not attach output, shipment, pricing or revenue targets to the extension.

The package reaches beyond magnet exports alone. It spans production equipment, battery materials, superhard materials and foreign-made goods. No. 62 also reaches support for overseas rare-earth production.

Which controls remain in force?

Announcement No. 18 from April 2025 remains outside the pause. It requires a license for every export of samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium, plus related magnet materials.

That distinction leaves a selective regime in force during the broader suspension. Buyers of the seven listed elements and associated magnets still face Chinese licensing requirements. The April list includes dysprosium and terbium, alongside samarium, gadolinium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium. The broader pause does not provide a general exemption for rare-earth shipments.

A separate suspension of China's 2024 ban on gallium, germanium and antimony exports to the United States runs through Nov. 27, 2026. The Monday notice did not mention that arrangement.

What changes for suppliers?

Trump is expected to meet Xi at the APEC leaders' summit in Shenzhen later this month, where the two sides are negotiating a more durable trade deal.

The policy calendar now links three checkpoints. The Jan. 10, 2027 control deadline is confirmed. The Nov. 27, 2026 gallium, germanium and antimony suspension is also confirmed. The APEC summit is an expected event later this month, not a confirmed meeting date.

The Pentagon also plans to build its own stockpile of rare earths and tungsten under the FORTRESS plan. No stockpile volume or purchasing schedule was disclosed.

For procurement teams, the immediate effect is that the six suspended notices do not apply during the defined period. The seven-element license rule remains the more immediate constraint for magnet supply. The notice did not quantify how much licensed material Chinese exporters can ship.

The next commercial checkpoint is Jan. 10, 2027, when the six suspensions expire unless extended, leaving rare-earth availability and pricing exposed to the durability of U.S.-China trade negotiations.