China Eases Grip on Rare Earths and U.S. Tech Probes

China has agreed to back off some strict limits on rare earth exports and drop investigations into American chip makers. It's part of a fresh deal between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, announced just days ago on October 30, 2025.

Could this be the breather everyone in global business has been holding their breath for? Rare earths aren't your everyday rocks—they're the secret sauce in everything from smartphone screens to electric car batteries and fighter jets. China controls about 80% of the world's supply, so when they tightened export rules back in October 2022 and April 2025, it sent shockwaves.

Factories in the U.S. and beyond started scrambling, worried about shortages that could jack up prices and slow production. Now, under the new pact, Beijing will hand out general export licenses for these minerals, plus others. The licenses aim straight at helping U.S. buyers and their global partners, effectively hitting pause on those curbs for at least a year.

It's not just about dirt from the ground, though. China was also probing big U.S. names in the semiconductor world—think firms building the brains of our gadgets. Those investigations? Done and dusted, says the White House fact sheet released on November 1. In return, the U.S. is rolling back some of its own restrictions on Chinese companies. Oh, and get this: Dutch chip giant can restart shipments from its Chinese plants, which had been stalled amid the mess.

These moves could steady prices on everyday stuff like EVs and phones, keeping innovation humming without unnecessary disruption. Sure, not every trade sore spot is healed—think broader tariffs or sticky issues—but this feels like a genuine olive branch.

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