China has granted temporary export licenses to rare-earth suppliers of the top three U.S. automakers, two sources familiar with the matter said, as supply chain disruptions begin to surface from Beijing's export curbs on those materials.

China views its rare earths as a national security issue, not a trade one, and that’s why Beijing is unlikely to loosen controls any time soon, experts say.

China has stopped almost all shipments of critical minerals that are needed for cars, robots, wind turbines, jet fighters and other technologies.