Exclusive-GM cancels deal with new US rare-earth magnet plant, documents say

General Motors (GM), the biggest customer of a US rare earth magnet factory, has terminated its long-term supply agreement with the plant, and the two parties are now in arbitration, according to regulatory documents and an insider familiar with the situation. The move highlights the difficulties Western firms face in establishing domestic rare earth production and reducing their dependence on China, which accounts for around 90% of global permanent magnets.

This also demonstrates how the US automotive industry has changed since Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025 and reduced federal support for electric vehicles.

In 2023, Germany's VAC signed a long-term deal with GM to provide permanent magnets for its electric vehicles from a new factory in South Carolina. Energy Fuels, which agreed to pay $1.9 billion to acquire VAC in June, confirmed that a customer of the plant canceled its supply agreement on July 1 and initiated arbitration against them several days later.

Although VAC did not disclose the customer's name, GM disclosed in an SEC filing that a supplier of an electric vehicle traction motor component terminated the strategic sourcing agreement without providing a reason.