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China Tightens Grip on Silver, Antimony, and Tungsten

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by VBL
Tuesday, Nov 04, 2025 - 17:06

**Breaking: China Tightens its Grip on Silver

Authored by GoldFix 
The Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM) has issued Announcement 2025-No. 68 (mofcom.gov.cn), imposing stringent conditions on the export of three critical minor metals — tungsten, antimony and silver — for the period 2026-2027. The move reflects China’s intensifying resource-security agenda and tighter export controls over strategic materials.

The announcement, published on October 26, 2025, defines the application conditions and procedures for Chinese state-trading enterprises to export tungsten, antimony and silver during the 2026-2027 period. The move is framed as part of resource-and-environment protection efforts and export administration under the Trade Law and the Import & Export Goods Regulation. We were afraid of this eventuality and stated as much in "The Boomerang effect" 

Silver and The 232 Boomerang Effect

Nov 2

What the Boomerang Effect Is: If we do not tariff Silver, that is because we need it. And if we need it, that will make it harder to get. The US doesn’t dictate terms on these things anymore. That’s why we are holding off on announcing whether we are or are not using tariffs—to see what we can secure first.
The US is hoarding now, and the BRICS  are withholding. 

Read full story

 

Focus on Silver

The section on silver (白银) outlines rigorous eligibility criteria for both production and trading firms:

  • For production enterprises: they must be legal persons, hold export qualification, and have actual silver export performance every year from 2022-2024 (or since gaining qualification). For new applicants, the 2024 year-end domestic production threshold is at least 80 tonnes (40 t in western regions).

  • For circulation/trading enterprises: they must also be legal persons, meet annual export performance for 2022-2024, hold ISO9000 certification, abide by tax/customs/forex laws, and have no unresolved illegal violations.

Procedural steps

Applicants must submit documents to their provincial commerce authorities, who compile regional lists and submit to MOFCOM by November 12, 2025. After MOFCOM’s review and 7-day public disclosure of approved firms, final qualification and list release follow. Documentation requirements include: commitment letters, business licenses, customs codes, quality & environment certifications, social insurance payment proof, and production/export proof (for silver: 2024 production proof).

Interpretation

This regulatory tightening signals that China is filtering the pool of firms eligible to export these strategic minor metals. The threshold of 80 t production for silver firms (less in western regions) effectively limits export access to larger, integrated producers. Combined with firm-specific certification...

Continues here.

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