China's Antimony Curbs Expose U.S. Critical Mineral Supply Chain Vulnerabilities

"More than a year after China rattled the West by imposing export
controls on gallium and germanium, two powerful chipmaking inputs,
Beijing flexed its muscles again this month by announcing curbs on
another key, yet often overlooked, metal: antimony.
Antimony may seem like an obscure material, but it is vital in the
defense industry, with critical uses in nuclear weapons, infrared
missiles, and night-vision equipment. No country maintains as dominant a
grip on the metal’s global trade as China, which accounts for nearly
half of all production and more than 60 percent of U.S. imports.
Beginning Sept. 15, Beijing will require exporters to apply for a
license for certain antimony products as well as require permission for
related smelting and separation technology exports.
For Washington and its European partners, this latest move has only
reinforced the importance of diversifying away from Chinese-dominated
mineral supply chains. Yet it has also underscored an uncomfortable
reality: No matter how eager Western powers are to slash their
dependence on China, they will likely remain vulnerable to such measures
in the immediate future, given the many challenges in securing
alternative sources and the necessary financing.
“Everyone knows that you can’t rely on China,” said Gracelin Baskaran,
an expert in critical mineral security at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank. But the
United States is “caught in an impasse” between its political and
national security interests and a challenging market environment,
including whipsawing commodity prices and high capital costs, she said."