EU firms brace for more shutdowns over China's rare earth controls

European manufacturers are bracing for additional shutdowns as Beijing keeps tight control over rare earth exports, even after a July summit aimed at speeding shipments to Europe. The EU Chamber of Commerce in China says bottlenecks persist for its members. Bottlenecks are seen across licensing, with little material shift since the summit. During the auto and semiconductor supply chains, production delays and plant shutdowns followed export controls on certain rare earths and magnets after tariffs. China still refines the bulk of these materials, and authorities defend the curbs as non-discriminatory. Chinese customs data show magnet exports to Europe rising sharply since June, aided by deals with the United States and the EU. Two months after the summit, licence approvals have slowed. Less than a quarter of about 140 export-licence applications handled by the chamber have cleared Chinese authorities. Some firms are preemptively filing to avoid delays that could cause losses. The chamber says the situation is not shifting in a meaningful way, and more companies may halt work as bottlenecks persist.