On May 9, the supplier group raised urgent concerns about the Chinese restrictions in a joint letter with the trade group representing General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen , Hyundai and other major automakers.
“Without reliable access to these elements and magnets, automotive suppliers will be unable to produce critical automotive components, including automatic transmissions, throttle bodies, alternators, various motors, sensors, seat belts, speakers, lights, motors, power steering, and cameras,” MEMA and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation wrote to the Trump administration in the letter, which was first reported by Reuters.
Rare-earth magnet exports from China halved in April as companies grappled with an opaque application process for permits that sometimes require hundreds of pages of documents.
In a social media post last Friday, Trump accused China of violating terms of a deal reached in May to temporarily dial back the tariffs both sides imposed on each other and other trade restrictions.
US auto companies are already feeling the impact of the restrictions. Ford shut down production of its Explorer SUV at its Chicago plant for a week in May because of a rare-earth shortage, the company said.
