China has extended its pause on a package of newer export controls, including controls on some rare earth materials, equipment and technology, until January 10, 2027, keeping a fragile trade truce with the United States alive for two more months.
The Ministry of Commerce said the suspension of six announcements issued in October 2025 will now run from November 11 to January 10, 2027. The suspended package covers five additional rare earth elements, holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium, along with certain rare earth equipment, raw materials and related technologies. In a matching move the same day, China extended its suspension of an extra 24 percent tariff on American goods for two months, keeping a separate 10 percent levy in place, and suspended special port fees on ships linked to the United States until the same January date.
Rare earths are a group of metals that modern industry cannot easily do without. They go into magnets for electric vehicles and wind turbines, into electronics and into weapons systems, and China dominates both their mining and, even more, their processing. Export controls on them are one of Beijing’s strongest levers in the trade fight.
The background matters for what this decision is and is not. China first put licensing controls on seven rare earth elements in April 2025. It expanded the system sharply in October 2025, then paused the expansion for a year after a summit between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. That pause was due to expire on November 10. Monday’s announcement extends the pause on the October package only.
Two distinctions decide what this means in practice. A suspension is not a withdrawal: the October controls remain on the books and can switch back on in January if talks fail. And the April 2025 licensing system was never paused at all. It remains in force today, which is why this is relief for manufacturers, not a return to open trade.
Transparency note: This story is based on Reuters reporting and on the text of the Commerce Ministry announcement as carried by Shanghai Metals Market. The January date is January 10, 2027.
