New Mineral Import and Export Rules

📍 India

On 1 February 2025, India announced the removal of customs duties on waste and scraps for a dozen critical minerals – including copper, lead, tungsten, and zinc. There are also no longer customs on waste and scraps of lithium-ion batteries and cobalt powder. Last year, the Indian government had already gotten rid of the customs duties for 25 critical minerals that are not available domestically in India. The decision to get rid of the customs duties was made to help secure the availability of the minerals for manufacturing. In January 2025, India approved a $1.88 billion plan to further develop its critical minerals sector and secure additional raw materials. Next, the government plans to “launch a policy for recovery of critical minerals from tailings or by-products of mining”.

📍 China

As of 4 February 2025, China imposed further export controls on critical raw materials – including bismuth, indium, molybdenum, tellurium, and tungsten. China is a major producer and exporter of raw materials. According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, its decision to include further critical raw materials on its list of controlled export reflects China’s development and national security interests. On 3 December 2025, China had already banned the exports of antimony, gallium, and germanium to the U.S.

📍 U.S. & Canada

The Trump administration’s tariffs are expected to push U.S. companies towards sourcing more domestic materials. While the aim is officially to reduce the reliance on China for critical minerals, tariffs placed on Canadian imports may undercut this. Canada is the biggest mineral importer to the U.S., accounting for $47 billion of the imports in 2023. Placing a 25% tariff on Canadian mineral imports is estimated to cost U.S. offtakers $11.75 billion. As the U.S. exported $30.7 billion in minerals to Canada in 2023, possible retaliatory tariffs from the Canadian side are estimated to cost Canadian firms importing critical minerals $7.6 billion. The tariffs could have grave consequences on supply chains, as minerals mined in the U.S. and Canada typically cross the border multiple times throughout their processing and manufacturing stages.

📍 EU & Latin America

Through the EU-Chile Interim Trade Agreement (ITA) and EU–Mercosur Agreement (EMA), the EU aims to diversify its raw material imports and mitigate supply chain risks. The ITA is “the first EU trade agreement comprising a specific chapter on energy and raw materials”. It was signed in December 2023 and entered into force on 1 February 2025. With the ITA, the EU and Chile hope to boost their businesses’ competitiveness and support the development of their net-zero economies. As Mercosur countries are major mineral producers, the EU says one objective of the EMA is to ensure an “efficient, reliable and sustainable” mineral supply. The EMA was finalized in December 2024.