By Brian Swint

China said it will tighten controls on exports to the U.S. of raw materials used to make semiconductors.

The Commerce Ministry said Tuesday that it will ban exports of materials that may be used for making chips or for military purposes. That includes gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials. It also said it would be stricter in reviewing graphite sales to the U.S.

China is a huge producer of raw materials used in semiconductors, batteries, and other electronics. The move follows President Joe Biden's announcement Monday that China will face new restrictions on which advanced chips it can buy, and added over 100 companies to a trade blacklist. President-elect Donald Trump has also promised to raise tariffs on exports to China.

Semiconductor stocks didn't seem too distraught by the latest signs of an escalating trade war. The iShares Semiconductor ETF was up 0.2% in premarket trading. Intel was up 0.1%, as was Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. Nvidia was slipping 0.2% before the market opened.

Write to Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 03, 2024 07:53 ET (12:53 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.