BEIJING, Sept 17 (Reuters) - European firms are

expecting more shutdowns and suffering losses as Beijing

continues to hold a tight grip on rare earth exports despite a

July agreement to fast-track shipments to the bloc, the European

Union Chamber of Commerce in China said on Tuesday.

"Irrespective of the agreements and commitments reached at

the EU-China summit on the 24th of July, we continue to see

significant bottlenecks for our members," Jens Eskelund, the

chamber's president, told reporters.

Automakers in Europe and elsewhere faced production delays

and widespread shutdowns after Beijing introduced export

controls on some rare earths and related magnets following

tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Chipmakers also petitioned Beijing for relief.

China refines and processes the vast majority of rare

earths, which are in demand from automakers, the defence

industry and others. China has defended its export curbs as

"non-discriminatory" and not targeted at any specific country.

During a July summit between European Commission President

Ursula von der Leyen and Chinese President Xi Jinping, China

agreed to fast-track licences for critical raw materials for

European companies, although it fell short of EU's wish for

China to grant licences for a longer period or to scrap them for

exports to the bloc.

Licence approvals have slowed just two months after the

summit, and the chamber said it was starting to receive an

increase in complaints and requests for help from its members.

"I think it's fair to say we have not seen a material shift

since the summit," Eskelund said.

The chamber expects more companies to stop work as a result.

Chinese customs data show rare earth magnet exports,

including to Europe, have soared since June following the deals

agreed with the U.S. and the European Union.

Eskelund said less than a quarter of some 140 export licence

applications that the chamber has been involved with had been

approved by Chinese authorities. Some companies are preemptively

submitting application forms in anticipation of shipment delays

that could cause significant losses, he added.

"We have a number of members who are right now suffering

losses because of these bottlenecks," Eskelund said.