EU, alarmed by China’s new export curbs on germanium and gallium, hastens to assess exposure
- Beijing placed limits on the tech-critical elements to retaliate for Western restrictions on semiconductor exports to China
- China supplies EU 71 per cent of its gallium and 45 per cent of its germanium; analysis will determine which industries and member states are most vulnerable
European Union officials are scrambling to map the bloc’s exposure to Chinese supplies of germanium and gallium, after Beijing said it would restrict their export from August 1.
China’s Ministry of Commerce on Monday ordered export restrictions on the two technology-critical elements as well as several of their compounds, in retaliation for new Western curbs on its semiconductor industry, citing national security concerns.
The minerals are key to making advanced electronics, including microchips, new electric vehicles and solar panel technology.
The restrictions came after the Netherlands followed the lead of the United States in blocking China’s access to equipment used for making advanced chips, also citing national security reasons without naming Beijing directly.
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China restricts critical metal exports following Western semiconductor curbs in latest trade war
On Thursday in a meeting with trade diplomats in Brussels, European Commission officials said they were “scared” of the scope of the Chinese retaliation, according to people involved in the discussion.
China’s claim of national security as the reason has spooked them, fearing the restrictions could be extended to other key minerals.