China’s Rare Earth Shipments to US Jump After Trade Truce

The United States received about 619 tons of magnets last month, a surge from just 46 tons in May.

A loader shifts soil containing rare earth minerals at a port in Lianyungang, in China's Jiangsu Province, for export to Japan, on Sept. 5, 2010. STR/AFP via Getty Images

China’s exports of rare earth metals rebounded further in July, with shipments to the United States hitting their highest level this year, new customs data showed on Aug. 20.

Last month, according to data released by China’s General Administration of Customs, the country exported a total of 5,577 tons of rare-earth permanent magnets, a component essential to global semiconductor, automotive, and defense makers. The figure represented a 72 percent increase from June and a 7 percent rise compared with the same month last year.