4 Indian firms allowed to import China rare earths

Four Indian companies have received licences to import rare earth magnets from China, signalling some relaxation in Beijing’s stance after months of stringent restrictions.

Rare earths are a group of 17 critical elements essential for manufacturing components used in several products, including electric vehicles, aircraft engines, electronics and military radars. They have become one of China's most powerful tools of leverage amid its trade tensions with the US.

The import licence issued to the four companies--DE Diamond, Hitachi, Continental India and Jay Ushin--comes with certain restrictions. These include a ban on exporting Chinese-origin magnets to the US or using them for defence purposes.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal today confirmed that “some Indian companies had received licences for importing rare earth magnets from China”.

Referring to the US-China announcement on rare earths made today, Jaiswal said, “We have to look at how the Washington-Beijing talks play into our domain.”

The US and China have reached a significant one-year deal to ease tensions over rare earth minerals. As part of the agreement announced following a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, China agreed to suspend its planned export restrictions and keep rare earth exports flowing to the US.

Meanwhile, India is also pursuing domestic production and processing capacity for rare earths to reduce dependency on China. The Centre has approved a Rs 7,300 crore scheme aimed at boosting domestic rare earth magnet production, with a target to produce about 6,000 metric tonnes of it annually within seven years.

This would cover much of India's projected demand for rare earth magnets needed for electric vehicles, and renewable energy and defence industries, said an official.

India is also actively seeking alternative sources of rare earth minerals beyond China through strategic partnerships with countries such as Kazakhstan, Australia, Brazil and several African nations to establish joint mining ventures and a resilient regional rare earth market.

The National Critical Mineral Mission was set up for the purpose in January following an approval by the Cabinet. The mission comprises key interventions for increasing domestic capacity and building supply chain resilience in critical minerals, which include rare earths elements (REE).

Additionally, the Ministry of Mines is providing funding for R&D projects related to REE to various institutions, laboratories, start-ups and MSMEs. A total of 11 REE-related projects were approved during 2023–24 and 2024–25 with a combined outlay of Rs 9.33 crore.