this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2023
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July 4 (Reuters) - China has announced export restrictions on some gallium and germanium products, metals used in computer chips and other products, citing national security interests.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

Here’s the thing about resource based export bans: prices will go up and as a result new producers/mines will enter the market. In time, new alternatives will be found, cost of production will go down, and china will loose its comparative advantage permanently.

[–] moonwalker 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Haven't drank any coffee yet. Reading the title I thought this was going to effect the potato chip supply chain.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Mmm. The melt-in-your-mouth flavour of gallium.

(It melts at like 30C if you're not familiar)

[–] moonwalker 3 points 1 year ago

Lay's BBQ chips. New and improved gallium free recipe.

[–] Candelestine 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

... you're supposed to cut access to those shortly before the war, to cause maximum headaches. If there's a war actually soon, then they picked the dumbest timing they possibly could. The west is in a state of partially mobilized war production, in an effort to supply Ukraine.

And US soldiers are not involved in any foreign wars for the first time in awhile. That lowers our threshold for hitting an America-fuck-yea moment significantly.

Primary Reference: https://youtu.be/LasrD6SZkZk

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

China isn't going to declare war on the US. All their manufacturing profits come from US buyers. Both sides would suffer drastically before a single shot was fired.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Germanium ores are rare and most germanium is a by-product of zinc production and from coal fly ash.

Gallium is found in trace amounts in zinc ores and in bauxite, and gallium metal is produced when processing bauxite to make aluminium.

Can you imagine a world without zinc?

[–] Raphael -1 points 1 year ago

USA: Sanctions China chip industry. China: Restricts some specific exports that affect the ship industry.

USA: Surprised Pikachu Face