Exclusives | Americas

G7 weighs price floors for rare earths to counter China’s dominance

24 September 2025, 2:11 pm

1 min read

FILE PHOTO: Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China October 31, 2010. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Group of Seven (G7) members and the European Union are considering price floors to promote rare earth production, as well as taxes on some Chinese exports to incentivize investment.

Why it matters

G7 countries, with the exception of Japan, are heavily or exclusively reliant on China for materials ranging from rare earth magnets to battery metals, and in April China — the world’s leading producer of rare earths — surprised buyers by introducing export controls on these materials and related magnets in retaliation for U.S. tariffs.