But controlling exports of essential battery elements is only the tip of the iceberg of the Middle Kingdom’s strategy. As we have seen, Beijing recently banned the sale to the United States of materials critical to the semiconductor industry: gallium, germanium and antimony. These components are necessary to manufacture radio frequency chips used in smartphones and satellite communications.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the Commerce Department just added 28 American companies to its blacklist, including defense giants Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Missiles & Defense. If this does not show Beijing’s desire to use its regulatory arsenal as a negotiating lever, then we are going to kick it.
The Export Control List, modeled after the U.S. Commerce Department’s “Entity List,” specifically targets dual-use technologies. Experts see this as a direct response to US restrictions on semiconductor exports imposed by the Biden administration. Let’s see how Donald Trump will handle the matter.
Belgium
