The US-China Rivalry Escalates Again: What Impact Will It Have on the Chinese Zinc Concentrate Market? [SMM Analysis]

SMM April 18 News:

On April 10, China increased the tariff rate on imported goods originating from the US from 84% to 125%. On April 15, the White House released a fact sheet stating that Chinese products exported to the US would face tariffs of up to 245%. The "tariff storm" of 2025 has returned, with escalating tariffs affecting global nerves. As domestic smelters gradually expand production, the domestic reliance on imported zinc concentrate is also increasing. The market is highly concerned about whether this tariff event will impact the Chinese zinc concentrate market.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, China's main zinc concentrate importing countries are Australia, Peru, and Kazakhstan, with the CR3 reaching nearly 50% in 2024. Australia and the Americas are among the major zinc concentrate importing regions for China. The US accounts for a small proportion of China's zinc concentrate imports. Specifically, since 2015, although the volume of zinc concentrate imported from the US has gradually increased, the overall proportion remains less than 5%, indicating that China's direct imports of US zinc concentrate are relatively limited.

Additionally, the major lead-zinc mines in the US include Red Dog, Buick, Greens Creek, Lucky Friday, Middle Tennessee, and East Tennessee. According to statistics from the US Geological Survey, the US zinc concentrate production in 2024 was 750,000 mt, with exports reaching around 650,000 mt. According to SMM, the zinc concentrate imported by China from the US is primarily from the Red Dog mine, entering China through trade with Teck. There have been no reports of other transshipment methods bringing US zinc concentrate into the Chinese market.

Therefore, although the cost of importing US zinc concentrate has significantly increased due to tariffs, China's reliance on US zinc concentrate imports is not high. It is expected that the impact on the domestic zinc concentrate market supply will be limited.