The good news is that there is spare capacity at another germanium mine

<p>China this week announced restrictions on germanium and gallium in retaliation for US restrictions on AI chips. That's set off fears of a tit-for-tat escalation that some fear could include lithium production, which is dominated by China.</p><p>Regarding germanium, some of the largest available reserves are owned by Russian state conglomerate Rostec and it notes that its holdings are operating at just 30% of capacity. It says it's ready to speed up production, but only to cover Russia's internal demand.</p><p>More broadly, there will surely be a bonanza in exploration and development of rare earth metals. The US already revealed a subsidy program and it will likely be expanded and accelerated.</p><p>In related news, China canceled a planned trip by the EU's Borrell scheduled for next week, without giving a reason.</p><p>"Unfortunately, we were informed by the Chinese counterparts that the
envisaged dates next week are no longer possible and we must now look
for alternatives," spokesperson Nabila Massrali <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europes-top-diplomat-visit-china-july-10-2023-07-04/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">told Reuters </a>in a
written statement on Tuesday.</p><p>US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is scheduled to visit Beijing on Thursday.</p>

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.