Government Clarifies Rare Earth Metal Export Rules, Mineral Commodities Can Now Be Shipped Abroad Again

The government is refining regulations on the management and trade of rare earth metal (LTJ) content in mineral commodities to be exported. The move aims to provide legal certainty whilst resolving export disruptions caused by differing interpretations of the applicable rules.

Head of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Dudung Abdurachman said the government has reached a common understanding with relevant ministries and agencies regarding the implementation of the LTJ export ban.

According to him, the ban applies only to rare earth metals exported as a primary product, not to LTJ content occurring as a trace element in main mining commodities or their derivative products.

“We wish to convey the progress of that coordination, in which a common understanding has been established that the LTJ export ban applies to LTJ as a primary product. So exporting LTJ as a product is indeed prohibited, but not automatically the LTJ content found as a trace element in the main mining products and their derivatives,” said Dudung Abdurachman at a press conference at the Bina Graha Building, Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, on Monday.

The common understanding resulted from a coordination meeting led by the Presidential Staff Office together with a number of relevant ministries and agencies on 27 July 2026.

The meeting addressed the issue of rare earth metal content in various mineral commodities and its implications for Indonesia’s mineral export governance.

Dudung explained that the outcome of the coordination serves as interim guidance for exporters, surveyors, and the Directorate General of Customs and Excise at the Ministry of Finance whilst the regulatory refinement process is still under way.

With this guidance in place, it is hoped that there will no longer be differences in interpretation in applying export rules for mineral commodities containing rare earth elements.

To strengthen legal certainty during the transition period, the government has also prepared a legal opinion from the Attorney General’s Office.

According to Dudung, this step was taken so that the ministries and agencies involved have a clear legal foundation in implementing policies related to the export of mineral commodities containing LTJ elements.