China has adopted a new set of regulations aimed at protecting its domestic supply of %RareEarthMetals.
Officials in Beijing say the regulations are being enacted in the name of “national security.”
The new rules pertain to the mining, smelting and trade in the metals that are used to make industrial magnets found in electric vehicles and consumer electronic devices.
The new regulations say that all rare earth metal resources belong to the Chinese state, and that the national government will oversee the development of the industry moving forward.
The regulations pertain to 17 rare earth metals, including %Cerium and %Scandium. China is the world’s dominant producer of rare earth metals, accounting for 90% of global output.
The new regulations take effect on October 1 of this year and will lead to the establishment of a rare earth product traceability system.
Companies engaged in rare earth mining, smelting, and the export of rare earth products, must establish a product flow record system and enter it into the national traceability system, said the Chinese government.
The latest regulations come after China last year restricted exports of the elements germanium and gallium that are widely used in the making of microchips.
More recently, China banned the export of technology used to make rare earth magnets and imposed a ban on technology to extract and separate rare earth minerals.
The moves to restrict rare earth metals comes at a time of heightened political and trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
China’s new rare earth metals regulations also come as the European Union moves to impose provisional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles starting July 4.