China's Tungsten Exports to Japan Hit Zero from Feb to April Amid Strained Ties

(Central News Agency, Taipei, June 7) Kyodo News reported today that amid the unimproved deterioration of Japan-China relations, China's exports of tungsten metal products such as tungsten carbide and tungsten powder to Japan from February to April have dropped to zero. Japanese companies are now having to procure products from other countries at more than triple the price and are working to strengthen recycling as a countermeasure. Tungsten is a rare metal necessary for manufacturing automobiles, cutting tools, and even weapons.

According to the report, the data comes from statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China. Osamu Inoue, President of Sumitomo Electric Industries, expressed a sense of crisis in May, stating that "procurement of tungsten from China has completely stopped."

The report mentioned that tungsten has high hardness characteristics and is often used to make tools such as drills for cutting metal. Sumitomo Electric produces such tools for automobile and aircraft processing, and about 30% of its raw materials had been imported from China.

Although Sumitomo Electric is promoting the procurement of tungsten metal products from the United States, due to increased costs, the company has raised the prices of related tools by up to 60%.

In addition to Sumitomo, Mitsubishi Materials has also raised the price of tungsten-containing cemented carbide materials to more than three times the previous level for orders accepted from June.

The report pointed out that tungsten, like rare earths needed for magnets, is a dual-use material controlled by China and is an indispensable raw material for weapons such as artillery shells and missiles. China accounts for about 80% of global production.

Under these circumstances, Japanese companies are working to recycle raw materials by recovering waste tools. Sumitomo Electric has invested approximately 16 billion yen (about NT$3.16 billion) to build a new factory in Toyama, Japan, to strengthen its recycling system. Mitsubishi Materials also plans to significantly increase recycling processing capacity at its plants in Akita, Japan, and Germany.