China Still Curbs Rare Earth Supplies Despite Trump Deal

Two months after President Donald Trump reached a deal with China to lift restrictions on the supplies of rare earth elements, Beijing continues to restrict those that the United States needs to produce its own permanent magnets and other products, market participants told Bloomberg on Wednesday. While Beijing has increased deliveries of finished products — mainly permanent magnets — the U.S. industry remains unable to purchase the inputs required to make those items on its own, a key priority for the Trump administration, according to more than a dozen consumers, producers, government officials and trade experts. The reduced trade highlights…