South Korea said on Wednesday it has enough strategic reserves and domestic production capacity to weather China’s new export controls on tungsten and four other minerals, at least in the short term. The trade ministry said it holds about six months’ worth of tungsten stockpiles and over three months of molybdenum supplies, though it acknowledged heavy reliance on Chinese imports with dependency rates of 85% and 90% respectively. While reserves offer a short-term buffer, a prolonged restriction could disrupt supply chains and drive up costs for firms like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

The export control measures, announcedby Beijing