producer of them both. from next month, exporting these metals will require a licence, as michelle fleury explains. welcome to world business report, i m ben thompson. us treasury secretary janet yellen is headed to beijing and hers is the second trip by a cabinet official to china since ties between the world s two top economies deteriorated earlier this year. her goal is to steady the relationship, but she s got her work cut out for her. ahead of her visit, beijing said it was imposing export controls on two rare metals essential for making semiconductors. the measures are seen as a tit for tat response after the us, the netherlands and japan recently restricted chip exports to china. some say the move is aimed at giving china more leverage in future trade discussions. gallium and germanium, the two metals in question, will be subject to export controls starting august 1st. in a statement, china s ministry of commerce said it was to protect national security interests. ch
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