Vietnam Curbs Exports of Refined Rare Earths, Reaffirms Ban on Ore Trade

Wedoany.com Report-Dec.12, Vietnam's National Assembly on Thursday passed amendments to the Law on Minerals that maintain a full ban on exports of rare earth ores and introduce new restrictions on exports of refined rare earth products.

The revised legislation requires that "deep processing of rare earths must be associated with building a modern industrial ecosystem to improve the domestic value chain and ensure autonomy." This provision effectively limits overseas sales of refined rare earths, prioritizing development of local processing capacity.

Vietnam currently possesses estimated rare earth reserves of 3.5 million metric tonnes, according to updated figures from the U.S. Geological Survey released earlier this year. The country has prohibited the export of unprocessed rare earth ores since at least 2021.

Lawmakers emphasized that "exploration, exploitation and processing activities must be strictly controlled" to support long-term national interests. The amendments aim to overcome decades of regulatory and technical challenges that have hindered the commercial development of Vietnam's rare earth resources by both domestic companies and international partners.

At present, Vietnam has almost no operational rare earth refining facilities, so the new export restrictions on refined products are not expected to affect trade volumes in the immediate term.

The updated law reflects Vietnam's strategy to gradually build an integrated domestic rare earth industry, from mining through advanced processing, rather than relying primarily on raw material exports.