China’s curbs on shipments of critical metals to the United States are already having a visible effect, with exports of the minerals plunging and shipments of several critical items halting entirely in March, customs data shows.
Advertisement
The dramatic cutback – imposed by Beijing in retaliation for Washington’s decision to slap large tariffs on Chinese goods – is likely to pile pressure on US manufacturers, which heavily rely on rare earths shipped from China.
China holds a dominant position in the supply chain for rare earths – a class of minerals that are essential to making everything from smartphones to cutting-edge military equipment – holding a near global monopoly on processing for some crucial materials.
And the country is now leveraging this strategic advantage amid the trade war, with US-bound shipments of several critical metals falling dramatically in March, according to data released over the weekend.
US-bound exports of tellurium, a metal widely used in solar panels and thermoelectric devices, declined roughly 44 per cent in both volume and value terms. Tungsten rod shipments were down about 84 per cent, while exports of other tungsten products fell by 77 per cent.
Advertisement
Shipments have halted entirely for some product categories, including molybdenum powder, bismuth products and another three categories of tungsten materials, according to the data.