Nov. 9 (UPI) -- China's Commerce Ministry announced Sunday that it would suspend a ban on the export of some rare earth metals to the United States as trade tensions ease.
The affected metals include gallium and germanium, which are used to make advanced semiconductors for computing, as well as antimony, which is used to make explosives, and super-hard metals such as tungsten, which is used in armor-piercing ammunition. The fifth metal covered by the suspension of the ban is graphite.
China's Commerce Ministry had announced the export ban in December 2024 ahead of the second administration of President Donald Trump, "in order to safeguard national security and interests and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation."
It said in a statement Sunday that the ban on the five metals would be suspended until Nov. 27, 2026.
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