Shanghai, China (EFE).- China has suspended its ban on the export of dual-use products containing gallium, germanium, and antimony to the United States for one year, the Ministry of Commerce announced Sunday.
In a brief statement published on its website, the Ministry of Commerce said that the ban will remain in effect until Nov. 27, 2026.
The original order, dated December 2024, prohibited the export of dual-use items related to gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials to the United States, as well as imposing “stricter” controls on the sale of graphite products to the US.
With the agreements announced after the meeting between the presidents of the two powers, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, the White House a week ago said that “China will suspend the global implementation of the expansive new export controls on rare earths and related measures.”
“China will issue general licenses valid for exports of rare earths, gallium, germanium, antimony, and graphite for the benefit of US end users and their suppliers around the world. The general license means the de facto removal of controls China imposed since 2023,” it added.
The statement refers to the restrictions the key metals for chip manufacturing and of which China is the world’s largest producer—that Beijing imposed in mid-2023, requiring specific licenses for their export.
In October of that same year, the US began requiring similar special permits for some “dual-use” graphite products, a material used to produce carbon fiber or to manufacture electrodes needed for batteries, and of which China is also the world’s largest producer and exporter.
A year later, Beijing added antimony to these restrictions, a metal used in various industrial sectors such as battery manufacturing and flame retardants, which has gained strategic importance in recent years.
Following this, in December 2024, China issued the aforementioned order limiting the export of all these materials to the US in response to the restrictions announced by Washington to curb the Asian giant’s ability to develop advanced microchips.
In addition to Beijing’s confirmation on Sunday, China and the US also agreed to reduce some of the tariffs announced in recent months, suspend other export restrictions—for example, those announced by China on rare earth elements in October—place a moratorium on port fees, and to relaunch agricultural trade. EFE
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