China unveiled a series of retaliatory measures against the United States on Tuesday, including restrictions on the export of five critical metals used in defence, clean energy, and other industries. The move comes in response to President Trump’s announcement on Friday of a blanket 10% additional tariff on Chinese imports.
Beijing’s new export controls target tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, indium, and molybdenum, stating that export licenses will only be granted to companies complying with “relevant regulations.” However, the Chinese government has not provided details about the specific criteria for compliance.
While significant, these measures fall short of the mineral export bans that China imposed on the US in December, which included gallium, germanium, antimony, and so-called superhard materials.
Some of the newly imposed controls are expected to have minimal impact on US industries. For instance, the United States is a major producer of molybdenum, a metal used to strengthen steel and reduce corrosion, and relies on negligible imports of it from China, according to the latest data from the US Geological Survey (USGS).
Additionally, US tariffs on indium and tungsten — set at 25% since last year — have already driven American importers to diversify their supply chains. Over the past four years, less than 10% of US indium imports have come from China, with South Korea, Japan, and Canada emerging as key suppliers, according to the USGS.
Still, vulnerabilities remain. The US ceased mining tungsten, a mineral critical for alloys and specialty steels, in 2015 and has not produced refined bismuth since 1997, relying entirely on imports for both materials.
Despite a declining share of tungsten imports from China, the country remains the primary supplier, making any sudden disruptions potentially damaging to US industries reliant on this resource.
Counter tariffs
China’s finance ministry also announced additional tariffs on US goods. Starting February 10, the country will impose a 15% duty on coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and raise tariffs by 10% on American crude oil, agricultural equipment, and certain cars.
President Trump, now in his second term, recently directed his administration to investigate China’s adherence to a trade deal reached during his first presidency in 2020. Economists note that the final results of this review, expected by April 1, could pave the way for further tariff measures.
In his first term in 2018, Trump launched a fierce two-year trade war with China, targeting its significant trade surplus with the US through tit-for-tat tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in goods. The conflict disrupted global supply chains and strained the world economy.
In 2020, China agreed to purchase an additional $200 billion in US goods annually to end the trade war. However, the covid-19 pandemic derailed the agreement, and China’s trade deficit with the US grew to $361 billion last year, according to the country’s customs data released in December.
