China bans export of key minerals to U.S. as trade row deepens even before Trump’s second term

China announced on Tuesday a ban on the export of a number of minerals with military and technology applications to the U.S., one day after the Biden administration further curbed its own exports as part of its crackdown on China’s semiconductor industry.

The Chinese ban applies to the minerals antimony, gallium and germanium. It also restricts the export of graphite. The minerals are used in a wide range of things including semiconductors, infrared technologies, fiber optic cables, bullets and electric vehicle batteries.

“These new controls only underscore the importance of strengthening our efforts with other countries to de-risk and diversify critical supply chains away from PRC (China),” a White House spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency.

“In principle, the export of gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials to the United States shall not be permitted,” the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in its directive.

According to consultancy Project Blue, China accounted for 98.8% of refined gallium production and 59.2% of refined germanium output this year. Last year, it accounted for 48% of globally mined antimony, which is used in items including nuclear weapons, ammunition and batteries.

“The move is a considerable escalation of tensions in supply chains where access to raw material units is already tight in the West,” Project Blue cofounder Jack Bedder told Reuters.

China issued the new ban just two days after the U.S. curbed exports to 140 companies in China’s semiconductor industry. The U.S. crackdown — the third in three years — was aimed at stymieing China’s ability to advance artificial intelligence technologies for military applications.  

The escalating tit-for-tat economic measures by Washington and Beijing come weeks before the swearing in of President-elect Donald Trump for his second term. During his first term, Trump launched a trade war with China, and he’s threatened to escalate the standoff once again with a new 10% blanket tariff on all Chinese imports once he returns to office.

“It comes as no surprise that China has responded to the increasing restrictions by American authorities, current and imminent, with its own restrictions on the supply of these strategic minerals,” Peter Arkell, chairman of the Global Mining Association of China, told Reuters. “It’s a trade war that has no winners.”