China expands rare earths export restrictions to new elements

BEIJING: China said on Thursday it would add several new rare earth elements to its export control list in a further tightening of its controls over the critical materials.

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China added holmium, erbium, thulium, europium, ytterbium and related materials to its export control list.
Dozens of rare earth processing machines are now also subject to export licensing requirements.
Exporters must apply for government approval before shipping these items out of China.

The elements holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium and related materials would be added to the existing control list, the ministry of commerce said in a statement.

In a separate release at the same time, the ministry also added dozens of pieces of rare earth processing equipment to the control list.

Exporters will need to apply for licences before exporting any of the items from China.