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China’s Commerce Ministry announced on June 22 the addition of ten US entities to its export control list, citing their connections to the US military. The move is a direct punch-back after Washington expanded its Chinese Military Companies list earlier this month, sweeping up numerous Chinese tech firms in the process.
Among the US companies now in Beijing’s crosshairs: MP Materials and USA Rare Earth, two of the most important players in America’s effort to build a domestic rare earth supply chain. Defense contractors Aveox and Oshkosh Defense also made the list.
China simultaneously restricted its government procurement agencies from buying products from 46 additional US firms, including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing’s defense division.
The rare earth squeeze and why it matters
China controls approximately 60% of global rare earth mining and over 90% of processing capacity. That leverage has turned rare earths into one of Beijing’s most potent economic weapons in its escalating trade conflict with Washington.
Beijing began imposing export controls on heavy rare earths and magnets back in April 2025, signaling that critical minerals would be a central front in any trade war. The June 2026 action escalates that strategy by directly naming US companies that work in the rare earth space.
MP Materials operates the Mountain Pass mine in California, the only scaled rare earth mining operation in the US. USA Rare Earth has been working to build processing capacity domestically. Both companies represent America’s best shot at reducing dependence on Chinese supply chains for these critical minerals.
Symbolism vs. substance
Many of the firms on the list have already been diversifying their supply chains away from Chinese materials, anticipating exactly this kind of retaliation. MP Materials has been building out its own processing capabilities in the US specifically to reduce reliance on shipping concentrates to China for refining. USA Rare Earth has similarly focused on developing domestic alternatives.
The procurement ban on 46 US firms carries a different kind of weight. While Lockheed Martin and Raytheon weren’t expecting purchase orders from the Chinese government, the formal designation adds legal and reputational complexity for any of these companies trying to do business in or through China. For Boeing’s defense division specifically, the restriction adds another complication to an already strained relationship between the aerospace giant and the Chinese market.
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