Bismuth: Criticality

Why Europe calls bismuth both critical and strategic

What this tab covers How exposed economies are to a supply disruption: the EU, US and India listings, the concentration score, and a quantified exposure for the US, EU, India, China, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia. Where the EU scored it, a chart of supply risk against economic importance, with import reliance, recycling input and substitutes.

Exposure by region

Region	Exposure	Share of world output	Share of world imports	Share of world exports	Net trade (US$)	On own critical list	Position
US	High	0.0%	24.2%	17.9%	−$3.96 m	Yes	No primary refining since 1997 and 92% net import reliance; imports from China fell 40% to about 460 t in 2025 after China's export controls, and bismuth is on the 2025 US critical list (USGS 2026).
EU	High	0.0%	31.2%	18.7%	−$9.17 m	Yes	Critical and strategic raw material with 0% end-of-life recycling; China supplies 65% of EU sourcing, and Germany took 16.8% of world imports by value in 2024 (EU CRM 2023; Comtrade).
India	High	0.0%	6.6%	0.0%	−$5.54 m	Yes	No production; imports about 475 t a year ($5.6 million in 2024, 6.6% of world imports) for chemicals and alloys; on India's 2023 critical list (Comtrade).
China	Low	81.6%	12.7%	44.4%	+$30.2 m	No	Refined 14,000 t of the world's 16,000 t in 2025 (about 88%) and controls exports through licences introduced in February 2025 (USGS 2026; Argus).
Japan	High	6.1%	3.5%	4.4%	+$1.11 m	Yes	Produces about 500 t a year as a by-product of zinc and lead smelting (USGS 2026) and exports 4.4% of world HS 8106 by value (Comtrade 2024).
Latin America	High	3.8%	4.7%	0.1%	−$3.87 m	no list	Bolivia refines about 50 t a year; its Tasna mine, one of only two primary bismuth mines, has been inactive since 1996 (USGS 2026).
Middle East	Low	0.0%	0.5%	0.0%	−$447k	no list	No production reported (USGS 2026).
Australia	Low	0.0%	0.3%	0.0%	−$214k	Yes	No refinery production reported for 2025 (USGS 2026).

Exposure rating: High when the region is a net importer whose import share is at least three times its share of world output (or, for farm goods, it produces under 70% of what it consumes); Medium for other net importers (or 70-95% self-sufficiency), raised to High when world supply is highly concentrated in another country; Low for net exporters or self-sufficient regions. Net importer status uses tonnage where reported, otherwise value. Output: World Mining Data, 2024. Trade: UN Comtrade 2024 (EU = sum of member states, including intra-EU trade). Critical lists: US 2025, EU 2024/1252, India 2023, China 2016 strategic minerals, Japan METI, Australia 2024.

Bismuth is critical and strategic for the EU, with supply risk 1.9 and economic importance 5.7, and is on the US 2025 and India 2023 lists. The risk is concentration, as China refines close to nine-tenths of supply. With companionality near 95%, supply cannot rise without more lead or tungsten processing. Bismuth's role as a lead substitute is growing. Since 2014 US 'lead-free' plumbing may hold at most 0.25% lead. Substitutes exist for many uses, including antibiotics in medicine and resins in machining fixtures.

EU 2023 Critical also a strategic raw material US 2025 list Yes India 2023 list Yes Production HHI 6,764 highly concentrated

EU 2023 assessment

Chart: EU 2023 criticality: supply risk against economic importance

Each dot is a material assessed by the EU in 2023. The shaded corner is the critical zone (supply risk ≥ 1.0, economic importance ≥ 2.8). Bismuth: supply risk 1.9, economic importance 5.7. EU import reliance, processing 71% EU recycling input rate 0% US net import reliance, 2025 92% share of apparent consumption

Substitutes

Alumina, antibiotics, calcium carbonate and magnesia in pharmaceuticals; cadmium, indium, lead and tin in low-temperature solders; resins and glycerin-filled bulbs in fusible-alloy uses