Rapid Fire
India Gains Access to Chinese Rare Earth Magnets
- 31 Oct 2025
- 2 min read
India’s electric vehicle (EV) and automotive sectors got relief as Indian firms secured the first conditional licences to import rare earth magnets from China after Beijing eased export curbs.
- Export Restriction and Its impact: Earlier in April 2025, China imposed export restrictions on rare earth magnets and related materials, disrupting global automotive supply chains.
- As part of a trade deal between the US and China, Beijing has temporarily paused these controls for one year, enabling selective exports to countries like India.
- The restrictions had threatened supply shortages, production delays, and cost hikes for India’s nascent EV market, which depends heavily on neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets.
- Nd-Fe-B magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnets and operate at high temperatures (150–200°C).
- NdFeB magnets are crucial for EV motors, power steering, braking, and wiper systems, making them vital to India’s electric mobility and clean energy transition.
- Indian Companies Licensed: These licences come with strict export control conditions, limiting use to non-defence applications such as vehicle components.
- Policy Implication: China holds a near-monopoly over global rare earth magnet supply, making import diversification a strategic concern for India’s energy security.
- This underscores India’s need to develop domestic rare earth processing and magnet manufacturing capacity under initiatives like Atmanirbhar Bharat.
- India is enabling short-term rare earth imports from nations like Vietnam and Brazil while targeting domestic production within 3–5 years through incentives and partnerships.
| Read more: Rare Earth Magnet |
