On December 3, China banned exports of critical minerals gallium, germanium and antimony to the U.S., as reported by Reuters. This strengthens enforcement of existing limits on critical minerals exports that China enacted last year, but apply only to the U.S. market, the agency noted.
Gallium and germanium are used in semiconductors, while germanium is also used in infrared technology, fibre optic cables and solar cells. Antimony is used in bullets and other weaponry, while graphite is the largest component by volume of electric vehicle batteries.
The move came a day after the US Commerce Department expanded existing export controls on chipmaking equipment produced by American companies at foreign facilities, as reported by Yahoo Finance.
China produces 98% of the world's gallium and 60% of its germanium as well as holds an estimated 77% of all the natural graphite supply on the planet as of 2023, according to a US Geological Survey.
Yahoo Finance offered this analysis:
From 2018 to 2021, China accounted for 54% of US imports of germanium and 53% of gallium, according to a March 2024 report by the US International Trade Commission.
When Beijing announced the curbs last year, gallium prices surged by 27% Since then, gallium prices have shot up by 80%and germanium by 50%.
And according to Chinese customs data, there has been no export of either wrought and unwrought germanium or gallium to the US in 2024 through October.
The US is 100% and 50% reliant on imports for gallium and germanium respectively. For graphite, the US is also 100% on imports.
For an analysis for how this will effect manufacturing, an article on IndustryWeek, offers advice on what companies and the government should do to address this situation.
