Shares of major U.S.-listed rare earth miners fell sharply Monday after officials in Washington said they expect Beijing to delay implementing export controls on critical minerals as part of ongoing trade negotiations between China and the United States.
Critical Metals dropped more than 10% in premarket trading, USA Rare Earth lost 8.6%, MP Materials declined 5.7%, and Trilogy Metals slid 8%. Energy Fuels and NioCorp Developments traded 4% and 6% lower, respectively, extending a week of volatility in the critical minerals sector.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told NBC News' Meet The Press on Sunday that Washington and Beijing were close to reaching a deal that would avert a new 100% U.S. tariff on Chinese goods. He said China was expected to "defer on imposing strict rare earth export controls," a move that would ease concerns over supply chain disruptions.
His remarks came just days before Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump are set to meet Thursday in what analysts describe as a pivotal moment for global trade. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Japan that the two nations were prepared to "come away with" an agreement, adding that he had "a lot of respect for President Xi."
The White House had previously warned it would impose sweeping 100% tariffs on imports from China starting Nov. 1 and consider export restrictions on "any and all critical software." Beijing had responded earlier this month by unveiling a framework to restrict rare earth exports - a step widely interpreted as a signal of deepening mistrust between the two economic powers.
China dominates the rare earth supply chain, accounting for nearly 70% of global mining and close to 90% of refining, giving Beijing significant leverage in negotiations over materials vital to electric vehicles, semiconductors, and defense technologies.
"Details are still limited, and nothing will be finalized until the Trump-Xi meeting," Wolfe Research analyst Tobin Marcus wrote in a note to clients. "But a renewed truce now seems near-certain, with China likely fully delaying their rare earth export controls for a year-better than the alternative of an agreement to grant licenses," Marcus added.
Meanwhile, European Council President Antonio Costa said Monday that high-level Chinese officials would visit Brussels in the coming weeks to discuss Beijing's export curbs. "We are very concerned about the trade relationship with China, especially the recent measures that China adopted regarding the export control of critical raw materials," Costa told reporters during the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur.
