Two Year Licences for Silver Exports along with Tungsten and
Antimony
·
US
Clubs Silver with Rare Earths
Beijing’s export controls are simply about
following the logic of the market and geopolitics in the interest of the nation
China
has tightened export controls on silver—alongside tungsten and
antimony—requiring special two-year licences, signalling a strategic expansion
beyond rare earths. The move comes as silver prices surged sharply in 2025,
driven by strong industrial demand and geopolitical tensions. While Beijing
cites resource protection and environmental concerns, the controls are widely
seen as part of a broader effort to secure supply chains and gain leverage in
foreign economic policy, particularly amid US–China rivalry.
Silver’s
dual role as a store of value and a critical industrial input for defence,
solar energy, electric vehicles and batteries heightens the global impact.
Tighter exports may ease domestic access and prices in China, but risk
worsening supply shortages and pushing prices higher abroad—especially for
major importers like the US. The policy has drawn criticism from industry
leaders such as Elon Musk and coincides with Washington adding silver to its
critical minerals list. Together with rising central bank accumulation of
precious metals, the shift underscores how China is using strategic commodities
to protect national interests and navigate an increasingly fractured global
economic order.
Silver is the new
rare earth, at least when it comes to China’s export controls on strategic commodities.
The Ministry of Commerce now requires companies to apply for a two-year special
licence for exports of silver, as well as tungsten and antimony. That has intensified
the global spotlight on the metal, whose prices already exploded in 2025, outperforming
even gold.
The latest move
is not just about silver, but an indication that China is refining its list of strategic
materials beyond rare earths and is ready to protect its supply chains.
Like gold, silver
is considered a store of value, but it also has significant industrial applications.
Beijing’s new measure has implications for industries in defence, solar power, electric
cars and batteries, among others. Beijing says it needs to protect domestic resources
and the environment. But as the world’s second-largest producer of silver, it may
worsen an existing global supply crunch thanks to rising demand.
Silver prices breached
US$80 an ounce for the first time in December, before falling back to the US$70
range. The London silver and Shanghai silver prices recorded an accumulated increase
of 175 per cent and 145 per cent, respectively, in 2025.
It’s now clear that
Beijing is expanding its list of strategic materials, both to defend the nation’s
own industrial and strategic needs and to incorporate it into its foreign economic
policy. The new and more stringent regime, which replaces a long-standing quota
system, will require firms to prove consistent production and/or export records.
Tighter export controls will mean easier access and lower prices domestically, but
may push them up outside the country.
The United States
is a major importer of silver. China has agreed to a one-year pause on export curbs
on some critical rare earths in response to lower tariffs from Washington. So silver may be seen as Beijing’s new industrial leverage in
an ongoing superpower rivalry.
No wonder Elon Musk,
the billionaire boss of Tesla and SpaceX, has blasted the new measures. “This is
not good,” he wrote in a social media post. “Silver is needed in many industrial
processes.”
In November, the
US added silver and copper to its list of critical minerals for economic and national
security.
Meanwhile, central
banks around the world have been increasing their stockpiles of silver and gold
at the expense of the US dollar. Geopolitical tensions, sanctions and seizure risks,
US dollar inflation and rising US national debt have all contributed to the trends
that may further weaken the US dollar and erode its global status as the dominant
reserve currency. China is simply following the logic of the market and geopolitics
to protect its national interests.