China Tightens Export Controls on Strategic Dual-Use Minerals, Effective July 1, 2026

[SMM Magnesium Express] Announcement No. 26 of 2026 by the Ministry of Commerce, announcing relevant matters on further improving the reporting and handling of illegal and irregular export control of strategic mineral dual-use items, will be officially implemented from July 1, 2026. The announcement stated that in order to fully play the role of social supervision and crack down on illegal and irregular export control of strategic dual-use mineral items, in accordance with laws and regulations such as the Export Control Law of the People's Republic of China and the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Commerce has decided to further improve the reporting and handling of illegal and irregular export control of strategic dual-use mineral items.

The announcement lists thirteen types of reportable situations, including unauthorized export, exceeding the scope of the license, splitting parts to evade the license, bypassing third countries to evade control, and includes intermediaries who knowingly provide agency, customs declaration, financial and other services in the scope of accountability.

For magnesium exports, magnesium and its products have been included in the management of dual-use item export licenses since 2026. The new regulations significantly reduce the gray operation space such as false reporting, concealment, and transit. Especially with the continuous tightening of export controls on Japan, the export of high-purity magnesium products used for aluminum processing has come to a standstill; The situation of bypassing a third country to evade control is clearly listed as a reporting situation, which increases the risk of transit trade. Overall, magnesium exports are accelerating from "wide entry and wide exit" to "strict management and control", and compliant operation has become the bottom line for enterprise survival.