2025.12.3106:08:32UTC+00China to Restrict Silver Shipments Starting New Year

China is reportedly poised to impose stricter controls on silver exports beginning January 1. This expansion of restrictions affects a commodity increasingly viewed as critical to U.S. manufacturing and defense supply chains. The Chinese Commerce Ministry initially announced these measures in October, during a Trump–Xi meeting in South Korea, where Beijing agreed to halt certain rare earth restrictions while the U.S. reduced tariffs. The ministry has confirmed that 44 companies will be permitted to export silver in 2026–27, an increase of two companies from the previous year. This initiative, a reaction to U.S. limitations on chips and tariffs, also includes tungsten and antimony, which are essential for defense and advanced technologies. Although not an outright ban, local media cited an industry insider stating that the policy "officially raises the status of the metal from an ordinary commodity to a strategic material," categorizing silver under the same regulatory framework as rare earths.