Announcement on the Optimisation and Adjustment of Temporary Export Control Measures for Graphite Items

Last updated: 8 December 2023

On 20 October, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) of China and the General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced that certain graphite products would require export permits to protect national security, effective from 1 December 2023. Applications for export permits must be submitted to the MOFCOM through provincial commerce authorities, and exporters will need to renew their licenses every 6 months.

The policy formally includes “highly sensitive” graphite products to the export control list. These products encompass:

  • high-strength, high-purity, high-density synthetic graphite materials and products.
  • natural flake graphite products including spherical graphite and expanded graphite. 

The policy also removes the temporary export control on other “less sensitive” graphite products, such as Carbon Electrodes for Furnaces, primarily used in the steel, metallurgy, and chemical sectors.  

Since 2006, the Chinese government has been imposing temporary export control on graphite. The new policy will replace its 2006 predecessor, which was a joint decision by the MOFCOM, GAC, and the State Administration for Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defence that imposed temporary export controls on several graphite products.

Want to know more about this policy ? Learn more (Korean)