GM Signs Domestic Rare-Earth Deal to Reduce Reliance on China

General Motors Co. has signed a deal with Texas-based Noveon Magnetics Inc. to secure rare-earth magnets for its full-size pickup trucks and SUVs, marking the third domestic supply contract the automaker has signed related to the critical trade dominated by China.

The latest agreement and two others — with Las Vegas-based MP Materials Corp. and E-Vac Magnetics, a South Carolina-based unit of Germany’s Vacuumschmelze GmbH — will allow GM to get the majority of rare-earth magnets it sources directly from domestic suppliers, the Detroit carmaker said Wednesday. But many of the parts it buys still rely on Chinese-made magnets.