IFTLE 570: China Restricts Exports of Gallium and Germanium

Blogs, Packaging IFTLE
Oct 02, 2023 · By Phil Garrou · advanced packaging materials

Beginning August 1, 2023, China has imposed export restrictions on gallium (Ga) and germanium (Ge) products.

These restrictions are seen as a retaliation against U.S. and EU sanctions on China, which have restricted the export of chips and chipmaking equipment. According to Wei Jianguo, former vice minister of commerce, China’s latest export curbs are just a starting point and China has other sanction options should the United States impose stricter technology restrictions on it.

In fact, China has been signaling that it may restrict the export of rare earth minerals to the United States as the trade conflict between the two countries escalates.

China’s controls will reportedly apply to eight Ga products: gallium antimonide, gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium metal, gallium nitride (GaN), gallium oxide, gallium phosphide, gallium selenide and indium gallium arsenide.

They will also apply to six Ge products: germanium dioxide, germanium epitaxial growth substrate, germanium ingot, germanium metal, germanium tetrachloride, and zinc germanium phosphide.

Chinese exporters will be required to obtain licenses from the commerce ministry to continue shipping these materials out of the country. Additionally, they must provide comprehensive information about overseas buyers and their applications. As of now, there are no outright bans on specific countries or end users.

In the short term, these controls look likely to lead to higher prices for Ga and Ge, as well as longer delivery times.

However, the dependency of major Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi, and Honor on foreign suppliers for GaAs-based components is a fascinating paradox. China lacks viable domestic suppliers for RF components and modules, specifically in the realm of GaAs-based technology. Thus, these Chinese companies rely heavily on overseas sources such as Broadcom, Skyworks, Qorvo, and Qualcomm to fulfill their demand for such components. It is thus expected that US and European companies, especially the ones involved in supplying RF components, will still be able to source Ga from China.

Background

In Jan 2021 the Dept of Energy released the report “Critical Minerals and Materials”, which listed the DOE’s strategy to support domestic critical mineral and materials supply chains.

In 2022, the United States Geological Survey released a new list of 50 mineral commodities critical to the U.S. economy and national security after an extensive multi-agency assessment. The Energy Act of 2020 defines a “critical mineral” as “a non-fuel mineral or mineral material essential to the economic or national security of the U.S. and which has a supply chain vulnerable to disruption”. Critical minerals are also characterized as “serving an essential function in the manufacturing of a product, the absence of which would have significant consequences for the economy or national security”. Ga and Ge are both on that list.

They are also both listed on the “35 Minerals Absolutely Critical to U.S. Security” list.`

It can be seen in the chart below that we rely heavily on China for the purchase of many of these materials including Ga and Ge.

From these studies, it is obvious that China dominates either the mining process or the refining process of most critical minerals.

Read the full article at:  IFTLE 570: China Restricts Exports of Gallium and Germanium - 3D InCites