Turkey Discovers 694 million mt of Rare Earth Element Reserves, with Infrastructure Construction Starting This Year

SMM News: The conflict in Iran that began on the afternoon of February 28, 2026, has not yet had a significant impact on the rare earth industry chain. According to SMM data, China exported approximately 67 mt of rare earth permanent magnets to Iran throughout 2025, accounting for 0.11% of total exports, and about 746 mt to all Middle Eastern countries, representing 1.1% of total exports. It is expected that the situation will mainly affect ocean freight rates, subsequently impacting rare earth prices in Europe and further intensifying the upward trend in European rare earth prices.

On Feb 24, 2026, China placed 20 Japanese firms, including Subaru, on an export control watchlist for unverifiable end-use of dual-use items. This signals tighter controls on critical minerals and tech amid geopolitical and supply chain shifts. The analysis examines the firms' supply chain roles and the long-term industrial implications.

On February 24, 2026, China's Ministry of Commerce issued Announcement No. 12 of 2026, adding 20 Japanese entities, including Subaru Corporation, to the export control "watch list" on the grounds of "inability to verify the end-users and end-uses of dual-use items." This move marks the first time since January 2026 that China has explicitly implemented such list-based management measures targeting Japanese enterprises, signaling a shift toward more precise, systematic, and in-depth development of export controls in the fields of critical minerals and high-tech materials. This article will conduct an in-depth analysis of the core backgrounds of these 20 enterprises, reveal their deep-seated connections with supply chains of critical materials such as rare earths, and explore the potential impact of this measure on the future global industrial landscape.