For: buyers who hear “export licences” and want to know what is actually documented. This timeline uses only sources I could read. Gaps are marked, because several widely repeated claims could not be verified.
| Date | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| End of 2024 | The United States, under Section 301(b), increased tariffs to 50% on several tungsten products from China | USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 |
| Feb 2025 | China implemented new export controls on selected tungsten items | USGS |
| 2025 | Prices rose sharply; Rotterdam APT went from $331 to $675 per metric ton unit during the year | USGS |
| Apr 18, 2025 | A trade-press report (SMM) described the licence steps: sign a contract with the customer (about one week), submit to the local commerce department, then forwarding to the Ministry of Commerce, whose processing takes 45 working days. It said only a few companies had obtained licences since February | SMM |
| June 2026 | Fastmarkets reported that export licensing requirements had limited availability, especially of APT in seaborne markets, and that Chinese domestic and export prices were diverging. A quoted executive stressed that it is “not a ban” | Fastmarkets, Jun 29, 2026 |
What this means for lead times
If a supplier needs to export tungsten-containing material from China, the licensing steps described above add time before shipment, and the 45-working-day figure is from an April 2025 trade report, not a current official standard. Suppliers who source outside China face different constraints, such as tight availability, that Fastmarkets also describes.
Questions to put to a supplier
Export controls usually show up as delay rather than refusal, so the questions are about dates and stock.
- Where does your tungsten powder come from, and does any material cross a Chinese export control? The origin of the powder matters, not the origin of the blade.
- What is your current lead time, and has it changed since the controls? Ask for the date of the last change.
- Do you hold stock bought earlier, and for how many weeks of my volume? Stock is the buffer that decides who waits.
- What is your policy if a licence delay pushes shipment past the confirmed date? Get the answer before you order.
What I could not verify
The number of licensed exporters, the licence approval rate, and current Ministry timelines. Some of these appear in news reports I could not read in full. I therefore state none of them.
Boundary: this is a reading of public reports, not legal or trade advice. Check official Chinese and U.S. sources and your trade counsel for current rules.
Sources and further reading. External references are dated; where a figure is quoted, the link shows where it came from.
U.S. Geological Survey: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Tungsten (2026) ↗SMM (Shanghai Metals Market): Tungsten Export Control License Acquisition Process Outlined, with Limited Success Since February (2025-04-18 (trade-press report)) ↗Fastmarkets: Tungsten markets fragmenting as domestic Chinese APT market diverges from exports (2026-06-29) ↗Tungsten Mining and Supply: How Concentrate Reaches Wear Parts Buyers ↗Dual Sourcing vs Single Supplier for Winter Wear Parts ↗Tungsten carbide inserts for snow plow edges ↗Marine Cargo Insurance for a Container of Edges: What ‘All Risks’ Does and Does Not Cover ↗What an APT Price Does and Does Not Tell a Carbide Edge Buyer ↗Why a Tungsten Price-per-Pound Chart Is Not Your Carbide Edge Price ↗
