Gallium, germanium and minor metals from China

Zero duty across heading 8112

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, beryllium, chromium, hafnium, rhenium, thallium, cadmium, gallium, germanium, indium, niobium and vanadium in heading 8112, whether unwrought, powders, waste or articles, carried 0% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. Import VAT at 20% is still due on the customs value.

Oxides and compounds are chemicals, not metals: germanium dioxide and gallium compounds are in chapter 28, and other metals have their own headings, covered in our tungsten, molybdenum and titanium guides. Confirm the commodity code from the form of the goods.

Export licences and hazardous metals

China's Ministry of Commerce and customs have controlled exports of gallium and germanium items since 1 August 2023, so each shipment needs a dual-use export licence naming the end user and end use, and approvals take weeks. Buyers should expect end-use statements, fewer eligible exporters and prices that move with licensing, and should build that time into contracts rather than assume spot availability.

Several of these metals are hazardous. Beryllium, cadmium and thallium powders and compounds carry serious CLP classifications and need safety data sheets, exposure controls and dangerous goods packing, and cadmium in products is restricted under UK REACH Annex XVII and RoHS. Keep the chain of custody and certificates of analysis with each lot for customers in electronics and defence supply chains.

Worked duty example

Suppose, purely for illustration, you import 200 kg of unwrought gallium ingots under 8112 92 89 00. At £60,000 free on board and £800 to ship and insure, the customs value is £60,800. With 0% duty on gallium, the only charge is import VAT: 20% of £60,800, or £12,160. VAT-registered businesses usually recover that in their next return. Air freight is assumed because small, high-value metal lots usually fly; the value is invented and is not a market price. The method is set out in how UK import duty and VAT work.

What goes wrong

Minor metals fail on purity, weight and paperwork. A lot sold as 6N gallium contains trace elements above the certificate, germanium ingots have lower resistivity or inclusions, powders oxidise because they were not packed under inert gas, and drums are short weight. Shipments stall when the Chinese export licence is delayed or the end-user statement does not match the buyer.

Ask for a certificate of analysis for each lot and have a retained sample tested independently by glow discharge mass spectrometry for high-purity grades, check weights and seals on arrival, specify vacuum or argon packing for reactive powders, and confirm the export licence and end-use paperwork before payment.

Cambridge China Bridge sources gallium, germanium, indium, vanadium and other minor metals for electronics, optics and alloy makers, with export licence timing and independent purity testing planned into the order. See how we source specialist metals.