China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on the evening of July 3 that China is restricting exports of gallium and germanium, two metals critical to semiconductor manufacturing, exacerbating technology issues with Europe and the United States over access to microchips. trade war.
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China is restricting exports of two metals critical to semiconductor manufacturing, China’s Commerce Ministry said late on Monday, intensifying a technology trade war with Europe and the United States over access to microchips.
The new rules, imposed on national security grounds, will require exporters to obtain a license to ship some gallium and germanium compounds from Aug. 1, China’s Ministry of Commerce said. said in a statement later Monday.
Applications for these export licenses must identify importers and end users and specify how the metals will be used.
The move is part of an increasingly fierce battle for global technological supremacy – with China the world’s largest source of the two metals – according to an EU study this year of key raw materials.
In October, the United States rolled out sweeping rules aimed at cutting off exports of key chips and semiconductor tools to China. The measures are believed to risk undercutting China’s ambitions to revitalize its domestic tech industry. The U.S. has also lobbied major chipmakers and allies such as the Netherlands and Japan to introduce export restrictions of their own.
The Netherlands responded on Friday by imposing new export restrictions on advanced semiconductor equipment. This will effectively prevent ASML from exporting to China. But the latest restrictions in the Netherlands do not specifically target ASML, one of the world’s most important semiconductor companies.
Some countries are also trying to protect their supply chains and build domestic chip industries, focusing on areas of their traditional strengths. Last week, a fund backed by the Japanese government proposed to buy semiconductor materials giant JSR for 903.9 billion yen ($6.3 billion).
Semiconductors are some of the most important technology products. They touch everything from smartphones to cars and refrigerators, and are also seen as key to military applications and advancing artificial intelligence.