On July 10, 2026, the Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) issued Announcement No. 29 of 2026 by the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs (hereinafter referred to as "this Announcement"). The Announcement clarifies that, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China, MOFCOM and the General Administration of Customs (GAC) have decided to impose temporary export prohibition controls on helium (customs commodity number: 2804290010). This Announcement shall take effect as of the date of promulgation, and subsequent related adjustments will be announced separately. This means that, effective immediately, domestic enterprises may no longer export helium, and relevant export business must be stopped immediately.
Helium is a non-renewable rare gas with extremely inert chemical properties and the lowest boiling point of any known substance, making it difficult to substitute with other gases. It is widely used in semiconductor wafer manufacturing, cooling of superconducting magnets for medical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), protective gas for optical-fiber drawing, pressurization of propellant tanks for aerospace launch vehicles, high-end welding, leak detection, and frontier scientific research, and is regarded as a strategic gas vital to national security. China's helium resources are limited, and its dependence on imports has long remained high. Under Article 18 of the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China, the State may, on grounds such as safeguarding national security or protecting exhaustible natural resources, adopt measures to prohibit or restrict the import or export of relevant goods; paragraph 2 of Article 20 further provides that, with the approval of the State Council, the competent department may temporarily adopt measures prohibiting or restricting the import or export of specific goods outside the catalog. The imposition of "temporary" export prohibition controls on helium in this case falls within the application of the above provisions.
It is worth noting that this Announcement adopts "prohibition of export" rather than "restriction of export" controls (such as quotas or licenses), which is more forceful; at the same time, it is prefixed with "temporary" and explicitly states that subsequent adjustments will be announced separately, meaning that the measure may be continued, adjusted, or lifted as circumstances change. For helium exporters and downstream enterprises, while immediate compliance is required, flexibility should also be reserved for subsequent policy changes.
ChemRadar Insights
This Announcement is short but sends a clear signal. With helium brought under "temporary export prohibition" controls, customs will no longer release export goods under customs tariff number 2804290010. Given that helium's downstream applications are concentrated in sensitive and fast-growing industries such as semiconductors, healthcare, and optical fibers, this control will directly affect enterprises' import and export arrangements, contract performance, and supply-chain strategies. Relevant enterprises are advised to attach great importance to it and take immediate action, focusing on the following points.
1. Immediately cease helium export business: As of the date of the Announcement, enterprises may no longer export helium under customs commodity number 2804290010. Enterprises engaged in helium export, customs declaration agency, or comprehensive foreign-trade services should immediately stop relevant export business and synchronously adjust the declaration basis of their business systems and customs declaration categories, to avoid having export declarations rejected by customs or even triggering compliance risks.
2. Properly handle existing export orders and contracts: For export orders not yet shipped or still being executed, enterprises should review them one by one, assess the breach risk of those that cannot be performed, and communicate and negotiate with overseas buyers promptly; they may invoke the force majeure or change-of-circumstances clauses in their contracts to seek exemption from liability, using the government announcement as supporting evidence, and seek professional legal advice when necessary.
3. Pay attention to the classification boundaries of helium-containing mixtures and related products: The Announcement clearly targets helium (2804290010), but whether helium-containing mixtures, helium-oxygen mixtures, and the like fall within the scope of control needs to be judged in light of the specific customs tariff number. Enterprises should confirm the classification and applicability of their actual products with the local customs or competent commerce authority, and must not expand or narrow the interpretation on their own.
4. Adjust inventory and procurement strategies: After exports are blocked, helium inventory originally intended for export may be redirected to domestic sales, but the domestic market's absorption capacity and price changes should be assessed at the same time; downstream helium-using enterprises (semiconductors, healthcare, optical fibers, etc.) should strengthen communication with upstream suppliers and, when necessary, lock in long-term agreements and improve helium recovery and reuse to enhance supply-chain resilience.
5. Closely track subsequent announcements and policy developments: The Announcement explicitly states that "subsequent related adjustments will be announced separately," and the word "temporary" means the ban may be adjusted, continued, or lifted as circumstances change. Enterprises should establish a standardized tracking mechanism that covers MOFCOM, the GAC, and the China Export Control Information Network (CECIN) to obtain adjustment information at the earliest opportunity and adjust their business arrangements accordingly.
6. Embed trade compliance review into business processes: This helium ban is characterized as "temporary and outside the catalog." Enterprises can't anticipate all risks from a fixed catalog. It's best to front-load import and export compliance review into procurement, sales, and customs declaration processes and establish an internal review mechanism for transactions involving sensitive items to avoid passive violations caused by temporary policy adjustments.
