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In a captivating aerial photograph, a container ship is seen docked at the Port of Oakland on October 10, 2025, in Oakland, California.
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On Monday, shares of several U.S.-listed rare earth mining companies experienced a significant drop. This decline followed statements from U.S. officials indicating that China is anticipated to postpone the implementation of export restrictions on essential minerals, which is part of a larger trade agreement.
In early trading, shares of Critical Metals plunged over 17%, while USA Rare Earth saw a 12% decrease. MP Materials’ stock fell by 7.3%, and Trilogy Metals experienced a 15% drop. In addition, Energy Fuels and NioCorp Developments’ stocks decreased by 14.7% and 9.5%, respectively.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed on NBC News’ “Meet The Press” on Sunday that the United States and China are on track to forge an agreement. This deal is expected to prevent a looming 100% U.S. tariff on Chinese imports, with China agreeing to temporarily hold off on imposing stringent export controls on rare earth minerals.
Bessent’s remarks precede a crucial meeting scheduled for Thursday between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump on Monday said that the U.S. and China were set to “come away with” a trade deal. Speaking aboard Air Force One en route to Japan amid a weeklong Asia trip, Trump said that he had “a lot of respect for President Xi.”
The U.S. president had previously threatened to impose new tariffs of 100% on imports from China starting from Nov. 1, adding at the time that the White House would also slap export controls on “any and all critical software.”
China, for its part, announced a new framework earlier this month for restricting rare earth exports. The move was seen as a stark warning to the West — and a reflection of the deepening mistrust between Beijing and Washington.
To be sure, China is the undisputed leader of the critical minerals supply chain, producing nearly 70% of the world’s supply of rare earths from mines and processing almost 90%, which means it is importing these materials from other countries and refining them.
“Details are still limited, and nothing will be finalized until the Trump-Xi meeting,” Wolfe Research analyst Tobin Marcus told clients in an Oct. 26 note.
“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 said.
— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
