Annealed neodymium iron boron magnets sit in a barrel prior to being crushed into powder at Neo Material Technologies Inc.’s Magnequench Tianjin Co. factory in Tianjin, China, on Friday, June 11, 2010. <\/p>\n
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images<\/p>\n
China’s exports of rare earth magnets to the U.S. fell sharply in September, ending months of recovery as the two economic superpowers remain locked in trade disputes and Washington pushes to secure alternative supply chains<\/a>.<\/p>\n Data from China’s General Administration of Customs on Monday showed that U.S.-bound exports fell 28.7% in September from August to 420.5 tonnes. That figure was also nearly 30% lower than a year prior.<\/p>\n It was the second consecutive monthly decline after a short-lived rebound that started in June<\/a>, when Beijing had agreed to expedite rare earth export permits during trade talks with U.S. officials in London.<\/p>\n Chinese rare earth magnet companies have reportedly<\/a> been facing tighter scrutiny on export license applications starting in September. The customs figures also come from before Beijing expanded<\/a> its export licensing regime earlier this month.<\/p>\n