In response to China’s imminent implementation of export controls on gallium and germanium-related items on August 1, the U.S. Department of Commerce on July 5, local time, stated that it firmly opposes China’s measure and will consult with allies to respond and strengthen the resilience of key supply chains.
China’s Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs issued an announcement on the evening of July 3, according to the Export Control Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Foreign Trade Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Customs Law of the People’s Republic of China, and in order to safeguard national security and interests, the State Council of China has decided to implement export control on gallium and germanium related items with the approval of the State Council. Items that meet the relevant characteristics shall not be exported without permission. The announcement will be officially implemented from August 1, 2023.
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Commerce said on May 5 that the U.S. strongly opposes China’s announcement to implement export controls on gallium and germanium, metals needed to produce semiconductors and other electronic products, and that Washington will consult with partners and allies to resolve the issue.
According to Reuters, the spokesman said in a statement via e-mail that the actions illustrate the need to diversify the supply chain. The U.S. will work with its own allies and partners to address the issue and build a resilient and critical supply chain.
Gallium and germanium are two elements that are used in small amounts but are critical in the production of photovoltaic panels, 5G devices and more. Gallium and germanium are rare and scattered in nature and can only occur as an associated element in minerals such as zinc and coal mines. China not only leads in the reserves of these two important strategic resources, but also has complete upstream and downstream industries, and the formation of the scale effect makes the cost of Chinese enterprises to develop and utilize gallium and germanium resources greatly reduced.