Thus the antimony arrives in the US mocking China’s veto

The antimony may not appear in the holders as Lithium either cobaltbut it is equally crucial. It is used in batteries, semiconductors, military equipment and flame retarders. Its availability determines the rhythm of entire industries. And at this time, his supply is at the center of a Geopolitical stuff Between China and the United States.

Since Beijing prohibited its export To Washington in December 2024, everything seemed to indicate that American factories would run out of mineral. However, commercial records show another reality: the US continues to receive tons of antimony, only now they arrive under another flag.

The unexpected redirection. In response to new sanctions imposed by the Biden Administration – the toughest to date against Chinese companies – China officially vetoed the exports of antimony, Galio and Germanio to the US. All of them essential minerals for strategic technologies: chips, telecommunications, renewable energy and defense.

Chinese sanctions made alarms jump in the industry. In a matter of months, the price of the antimony quadrupled: it went from about $ 13,000 to more than $ 60,000 per ton, According to Reuters. Battery companies and manufacturers of military teams were forced to look for alternative sources not to stop their production.

However, commercial data told a different story. Between December 2024 and April 2025, the United States imported 3,834 metric tons of antimony oxides from Thailand and Mexico. Two countries that, until then, almost did not appear on the global map of the antimony.

Creative transfers. A Reuters Report has pointed out That there is no direct evidence in the sending documents that it is Chinese antimony, but commercial flows point to an ingenious transhipment system: the mineral leaves China, passes through third countries, and ends in the US with a different label.

The process may include re -designing as innocuous materials – Hierro, Zinc, even “art material” – and the use of intermediaries in Asia. Chinese companies, such as Youngsun Chemicals, have proven to be experts in avoiding regulations. His Thai subsidiary, Thai Unipet Industries, has multiplied by 27 his shipments to the US in six months.

The great Asian intermediary. As He has collected Reuters, Thailand does not produce antimony in significant volumes and has only one smelting. However, between January 2024 and May 2025, it has become a key receiver of Chinese antimony exports.

Thai Unipet, in particular, has sent more than 3,300 tons to the United States, according to commercial platforms such as Importyeti and Export Genius. Documents do not reveal the origin of the mineral, but analysts and export patterns point to a systematic use of the country as a legal bridge.

And Mexico as a key piece. With a single antimony cast iron –Repeat only in April 2025– And without significant extraction of the mineral, now is among the three main Chinese export destinations. In 2023 it did not even appear in the Top 10.

As explained in the news agency, the phenomenon is explained by the chain mounted around Youngsun & Essen, the Texan subsidiary of Youngsun Chemicals, which previously received antimony directly from China. Today, the mineral travels via Thai Unipet and enters the US through Mexico or Thailand, in a difficult operation to track, but clearly designed to overcome the Chinese veto.

The problem multiplies. The antimony crisis is not exclusive to the United States. In Europe, The situation is equally tense. This metal, considered strategic by the European Commission, is key to weapons, defense, aerospace, electronics and medical systems. His shortage has created a bottleneck that threatens the technological supply of the continent.

According to analyst Ellie Saklatvala, from Argus Media, Europe faces fierce competition for accessing minerals such as antimony, renio and hafnio. While prices scale, the European Union has approved plans to diversify its supply and finance own mining projects, such as rare earths in Extremadura. But those solutions are still far from materializing.

Global reconfiguration of the mining map. The pressure is forcing structural changes. In the US, the outgoing administration of Biden approved the reopening of a historic mine in Idaho, closed since 1996, which could cover up to 35% of the national antimony demand. The perpetual company Resources, backed by billionaire John Paulson, plans to operate at full capacity in 2028. In addition, companies like Clarios They plan to build A critical mineral processing plant for $ 1 billion, while Nyrstar seeks to produce antimony in Australia, although it requires government support.

China, meanwhile, Intensifies surveillance about transford and smuggling. Chinese companies that do not make due diligence on the fate of their products can face fines, prohibitions or even prison sentences of more than five years.

Both sides of the game. The antimony case is not unique. China is also playing a similar asset, using the same approach to obtain latest generation artificial intelligence chips, whose export has been expressly prohibited by the US. As my partner explained In this report, Chinese military and academic entities have accessed graphic processing units (GPU) of manufacturers such as NVIDIA, AMD and Intel through intermediaries located in Malaysia and Singapore, which have emerged as neuralgic centers of technological smuggling towards the Asian country.

This pattern – eating sanctions through third countries – reflects the real difficulty of containing a power like China in a hyperconnected world. Just as the US continues to receive antimony under other flags, China continues to feed its development in thanks to indirect routes. On both fronts, intermediaries are key actors. The challenge is evident: in this new commercial war, no blockade is airtight, and each loophole becomes an access road.

Lessons of an invisible war. The antimony case illustrates how a globalized economy can find routes even under block. But it also highlights the fragility of supply chains and the urgent need to relite, recycle and diversify. Because this time was the antimony. Next time, it could be the bismuth. Or the cobalt. Or lithium. And when it comes to technologies that define the economic and military power of a nation, there is no margin for dependency.

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