Government enforcement action and objectives
The enforcement action was revealed during a government meeting in Shenzhen. It was intended to curb tactics for the smuggling of antimony such as false declarations and third-country rerouting.
Authorities pledged to enhance cross-departmental and regional enforcement efforts. This was to strengthen cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao and accelerate the investigation and public disclosure of key cases.
“The meeting called for all departments to strengthen the allocation of law enforcement and judicial resources, improve capacity building, and effectively raise the quality of case handling and the effect of enforcement action,” the ministry said.
The move came amid rising geopolitical tensions and growing global competition for control of key mineral resources.
Export restrictions on strategic minerals
China’s Ministry of Commerce announced export restrictions on antimony, gallium, germanium, and certain types of graphite used in electric vehicle batteries exported to the US. These restrictions were announced on December 3, 2024. And was just one day after the White House imposed new curbs on sales of high-bandwidth memory chips to China.
China remains a dominant global supplier of several strategic minerals used in semiconductors, batteries, and defense technologies. Its export control measures are closely watched by international markets for their potential effects on pricing and trade flows.
Smuggling of antimony impacts market
The crackdown on illegal antimony exports from China comes amid tight global supply.
China imposed formal export controls on antimony in September 2024, after which prices surged.
Fastmarkets’ twice-weekly price assessment for antimony, MMTA standard grade II, in-whs Rotterdam, averaged $22,461 per tonne in July 2024, one month before the announcement of controls. By October, the price had jumped to $32,433 per tonne, and by April 2025 it was $57,778 per tonne.
The monthly average price increased by approximately 157.2% from July 2024 to April 2025.
Fastmarkets’ latest twice-weekly price assessment for antimony, MMTA standard grade II, in-whs Rotterdam, was $58,000-59,650 per tonne on May 9.
Diverging reactions among market participants
Some believed that the crackdown on the smuggling of antimony could further tighten supply.
“It’s good to see that China is fighting against smuggling,” a sell-side source said, welcoming the move as a sign of stricter controls that could reinforce pricing strength.
Others doubted how much effect it would have due to the strict export controls already in place.
“[It has] nothing to do with the current market in Europe because there is no Chinese material coming in anyway,” a buy-side source told Fastmarkets, suggesting that the move may be of little immediate consequence outside China.
Multiple traders, however, have adopted a cautious stance to the effects of the crackdown.
“I can’t say for certain,” one trader said, noting that the full repercussions would not be clear until there was more detail on the scale of the smuggling and enforcement measures.
Interested in metals and mining insights? Get the latest market-reflective prices and analysis from Fastmarkets.
