China has announced a ban on exports to the United States of gallium, germanium and other key high-tech materials with potential military applications.

China has near global monopolies on these exports, accounting for 98% of global gallium production, 93% of germanium production, and 49% of antimony production.

  • horse_battery_staple@lemmy.worldEnglish
    792·
    23 days ago

    Are they going to ban these exports to Taiwan and the EU as well? If not this will have zero affect for the state actors and the US will just buy through a trading proxy at a higher cost.

    Idiotic policy on both sides. The global trade genie is out of the bottle, only end users will pay the price for these policies.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      522·
      23 days ago

      If not this will have zero affect for the state actors and the US will just buy through a trading proxy at a higher cost.

      I’d define that as an effect, particularly given how the US has been scrambling to insource its tech industry over the last four years. TMSC just ramped up a competitive chip fab in Arizona, for instance.

      Idiotic policy on both sides.

      The argument boils down to each country claiming they need additional security measures aimed at a geopolitical rival. The ramp up to war never looks smart until one side wins.

      • RubberDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
        9·
        23 days ago

        The Arizona fab is for relatively standard chips, not the high end ones.

        And this is also a step to prepare for an incoming president that has already kicked off a trade war before he even got there.

    • RobotToaster@mander.xyzEnglish
      201·
      23 days ago

      the US will just buy through a trading proxy at a higher cost.

      That’s basically how the ban on imports of Russian oil is working…