Why Does Delivery Take Months? Understanding Dual-Use Export Controls on Fluoride Products

Many customers purchasing fluoride products often ask: Why does it take several months from placing an order to receiving the goods?This article explains what dual-use items are, current policy trends in China, and how you can help expedite the approval process to receive your shipment sooner.

1. What Are Dual-Use Items?

Dual-use items refer to goods, powdered materials, technologies, and related services that have both civil/commercial applications and potential military uses—including in the development of weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, biological, chemical) or missile delivery systems.

Using Fairsky’s core products as examples—such as rare earth oxides, high-purity fluorides, and zirconium salts—their applications include:

• Civilian uses:​ Industrial polishing, ceramic coloring, catalysts, optical lenses, electronic coatings, and new energy materials.
• Sensitive military potential:​ Night-vision guidance systems, nuclear shielding coatings, specialty military alloys, heat-resistant components for missiles, and precision weapon optics.

If a product’s purity, particle size, or composition meets thresholds listed in control catalogs, it is subject to export controls—regardless of the stated purpose of purchase.

Products from Fairsky affected by these regulations include:​

Sodium Bifluoride, Sodium Fluoride, Potassium Bifluoride, Potassium Fluoride, Ammonium Bifluoride, Hydrofluoric Acid, and Erbium Oxide.

2. Current Policy Trends in China (2025–2026)

China’s export control regime is tightening significantly:

• Stricter controls across the rare earth supply chain:​ Any overseas processed product containing ≥0.1% Chinese-origin rare earth content now requires a re-export license from China.
• Regular updates to Entity Lists:​ The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) maintains and updates lists of restricted entities. Supplying dual-use items to parties on these lists is prohibited.
• Technology exports equally controlled:​ Formulas, sintering processes, purification techniques, on-site technical support, and even online process guidance are treated as “item exports.” Sharing such information without a license is illegal.

3. Our Export Compliance Process

To ensure full compliance, we follow these steps:

• Initial screening:​ We do not export dual-use items to countries/regions currently in conflict or under international sanctions.
• End-use & end-user verification:​ We must identify and verify the final destination and application of the product. The end-user must provide original hard-copy documentation, which we submit to MOFCOM for license approval. This process typically takes around two months.
• Shipment monitoring:​ Both parties must track the vessel’s voyage and confirm that the port of discharge matches the details specified in the export license.

How You Can Help Speed Up Delivery

To avoid delays, please provide and courier the required original documents to Fairsky as early as possible. We will then process and submit your application immediately to secure the export license.

For further inquiries, feel free to leave a message—our team will respond within 24 hours.