Guarantee that rare earths do not enter the United States! Indian companies are seeking China to relax restrictions, which has confused American netizens.
The Economic Times and Business Standard reported on October 9, "Indian companies are complying with Chinese requirements to ensure that heavy rare earth magnets are not re-exported to the United States." Some Indian companies have submitted "final user certificates," stating that heavy rare earth magnets imported from China are only used to meet local demand.
Although India has the fifth largest rare earth reserves in the world, about 6.9 million tons, due to limitations in technology and processing capabilities, its rare earth industry heavily relies on Chinese companies. Data shows that 80% of India's rare earth magnets need to be imported from Chinese companies. In 2024, the value of electric vehicle batteries and magnets imported by India from Chinese companies reached as high as $7 billion.
Thailand and Mexico are key "cleaning" transit points for rare earth smuggling. These two countries repackage and forge documents for rare earths sourced from China, falsely representing them as "local products" before exporting them to the United States. For example, high-purity rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium are declared as "iron alloys," "nickel powder," "solder paste," or "refractory materials." Some even falsely report rare earth oxides as "iron blocks," "ordinary ores," or even "art supplies."
Although India's reputation is not great, this assurance also indicates how much India craves rare earths. American netizens believe that this move has further strained the already fragile bilateral relations between the two countries, with many commenting that they did not expect India to pull off such a maneuver.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845650596224000/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.