尽管美国对废钨出口没有限制，但美国政府正准备为哈萨克的一座规划中钨矿提供高达1.6 billion美元的资金，以确保其供应链安全。与此同时，今年美国向菲律宾、台湾、越南和韩国等回收枢纽出口的废钨有所增加，这些国家成为流向因环保原因正式禁止废料进口的中国的潜在间接途径。包括 Liang Chen 在内的中国买家正积极在美国废料场搜寻高品质工具，有时在现金交易中支付超过20,000美元，但像 Tungco 的 Cliff Nance 等美国回收商认为，美国出口禁令是一个糟糕的主意，因为该国缺乏将所有废料加工成成品的产能。
钨是用于军火的关键国家安全资源，但全球库存偏低，且 TechMet SCM 的 Quentin Lamarche 指出，在中国境外完全没有加工后的中间产品可用。在2024年，中国发布了回收钨的新标准，这可能重新开启其进口废料的大门。Project Blue 的 Luke Adriaans 警告说，如果中国取消其废料进口禁令，这将给中国以外的市场带来灾难，因为在中国境外缺乏钨矿的情况下，这些市场严重依赖废料作为至关重要的原料。
Since early 2025, Chinese scrap traders have been stockpiling tungsten from scrap yards across the US, driving up the price of US tungsten by more than 200 percent and tungsten scrap by 350 percent since May 2025. This intense buying has triggered bidding wars with American buyers, as China already accounts for more than half of the global mined and refined tungsten supply and about half of global demand. A shortage outside China, caused by Beijing's early 2025 export restrictions, cut mining quotas, and surging demand from aerospace and weapons industries, has prompted US recyclers like Ryan McAdams of Amermin to call for a ban on exports to China.
Although there are no US prohibitions on tungsten scrap exports, the US government is poised to provide up to $1.6 billion for a planned tungsten mine in Kazakhstan to secure its supply chain. Meanwhile, US exports of tungsten scrap to recycling hubs like the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and South Korea have risen this year, acting as potential indirect routes to China, which officially bans scrap imports for environmental reasons. Chinese buyers, including Liang Chen, actively scour US scrap yards for high-quality tools, occasionally paying over $20,000 in cash transactions, though US recyclers like Cliff Nance of Tungco argue that a US export ban is a terrible idea because the nation lacks the capacity to process all scrap into finished products.
Tungsten is a critical national security resource used in munitions, but global stocks are low, and Quentin Lamarche of TechMet SCM notes there is no availability of processed intermediate products outside China. In 2024, China issued a new standard for recycled tungsten, potentially reopening its doors to scrap imports. Luke Adriaans of Project Blue warns that if China lifts its scrap import ban, it will cause a disaster for ex-Chinese markets, which rely heavily on scrap as a vital feedstock due to the lack of tungsten mines outside China.