{"id":238750,"date":"2026-07-15T14:44:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/china-halts-helium-exports-allowing-the-us-to-gain-from-the-iran-war\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T14:45:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:45:01","slug":"china-halts-helium-exports-allowing-the-us-to-gain-from-the-iran-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/china-halts-helium-exports-allowing-the-us-to-gain-from-the-iran-war\/","title":{"rendered":"China Halts Helium Exports, Allowing the US to Gain from the Iran War"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The US has emerged as the primary supplier of helium to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, with its market share poised for further growth. This trend stems from an analysis of customs data by Nikkei Asia<\/a>, indicating that Washington stands as the great beneficiary<\/strong> of a complex crisis involving the US-Israeli conflict with Iran alongside stringent export restrictions from Beijing.<\/p>\n

In the semiconductor industry, helium is a critical component, essential for cooling wafers and facilitating processes like plasma etching and photolithography. This resource proves particularly vital for leading semiconductor players in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, including TSMC, Samsung, and SK Hynix, who are now redirecting significant portions of their helium supply to the United States.<\/p>\n

China’s Helium Export Ban<\/h2>\n

On July 10, the Chinese government enacted a temporary ban on helium exports, a decision made without prior warning as per its Foreign Trade Law. The Ministry of Commerce and Chinese Customs stated that this measure correlates with escalating tensions in the Middle East, which jeopardizes an already precarious supply chain for integrated circuit manufacturing.<\/p>\n

China produces only about 15% or less of the helium it consumes domestically, relying heavily on imports, particularly from Qatar, which supplies roughly one-third of the world’s helium. Consequently, China\u2019s reliance on external sources for helium is of critical concern, with estimates revealing that it imports between 80% and 90%<\/a> of its needs.<\/p>\n

It’s important to note that helium cannot be synthesized and is extracted only from natural gas deposits. It plays a vital role in numerous semiconductor manufacturing processes, including wafer cooling and chemical deposition techniques.<\/p>\n

Diverging Vulnerabilities in Japan and South Korea<\/h2>\n

The degree of exposure to helium supply disruptions differs notably between Japan and South Korea. By 2025, Japan is projected to source approximately 60% of its helium imports<\/a> from the US, with the remainder from Qatar. This diversification has enabled Japan to adapt relatively quickly to changing supply dynamics.<\/p>\n

In contrast, South Korea’s dependency on Qatar is more pronounced, with around 64.7%<\/a> of its helium sourced from there. This situation has forced major companies like Samsung and SK Hynix to act quickly, securing long-term contracts with suppliers such as Linde and Air Products, albeit at higher prices.<\/p>\n

Given the demanding nature of memory chip production, which relies heavily on helium-consuming processes, many analysts predict that US suppliers like Air Products, Linde, and ExxonMobil stand to gain significantly from this tightening global supply.<\/p>\n

The Geopolitical Landscape<\/h2>\n

As helium joins the ranks of rare earth metals, gallium, germanium, and graphite, it reflects the broader geopolitical competition for resources critical to the semiconductor industry. The current landscape is emblematic of the intricate interplay between technology, trade, and international relations, with supplies of irreplaceable gases such as helium acquiring newfound strategic significance.<\/p>\n

For further insights, refer to Nikkei Asia<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The US has emerged as the primary supplier of helium to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, with its market share poised for further growth. This trend stems from an analysis of customs data by Nikkei Asia, indicating that Washington stands as the great beneficiary of a complex crisis involving the US-Israeli conflict with Iran alongside […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":238751,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[21537,2397,4874,4499,8005,49250,2507,326],"class_list":["post-238750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-allowing","tag-china","tag-exports","tag-gain","tag-halts","tag-helium","tag-iran","tag-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238750"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":238752,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238750\/revisions\/238752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}