Chromium: Criticality

Critical in Washington, not in Brussels: why views differ

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%	3.9%	0.1%	−$587.0 m	Yes	No chromite mine output; 79% net import reliance in 2025 and chromium is on the 2025 US critical list, with ore mostly from South Africa (96%) and ferrochrome from South Africa and Kazakhstan (USGS).
EU	High	2.1%	6.7%	5.0%	−$360.9 m	No	Finland mines about 1.9 Mt of ore, the only EU source; chromium is not on the EU critical list (supply risk 0.7) and EU end-of-life recycling input is 21% (USGS; EU CRM 2023).
India	Low	9.2%	0.7%	4.8%	+$540.8 m	No	Fourth-largest miner (3.0 Mt ore, 2025) with 79 Mt of reserves, self-sufficient in ore, and a net exporter of ferrochrome (8.2% of world exports, 2024); chromium is not on India's 2023 critical list (USGS; UN Comtrade).
China	High	0.4%	66.0%	2.6%	−$10.0 bn	Yes	Tiny mine output but the largest ferrochrome and stainless producer, taking 85% of world ore imports and 51% of ferrochrome imports in 2024 (USGS; UN Comtrade).
Japan	High	0.0%	5.0%	0.0%	−$788.3 m	Yes	No mine output; imports 8.8% of world ferrochrome (2024) for its stainless and specialty steel mills (UN Comtrade).
Latin America	Low	1.3%	0.5%	0.5%	−$18.0 m	no list	Brazil mined about 2 Mt of ore in 2025 and USGS expects expansions there (USGS).
Middle East	Low	1.4%	0.1%	0.7%	+$80.4 m	no list	Oman and Iran supply about 1.2% and 0.9% of world chromite (EU CRM 2023), while Turkey, a major exporter, mined 9 Mt in 2025 (USGS).
Australia	Low	0.0%	0.1%	0.0%	−$12.7 m	Yes	No chromite output in the USGS table for 2025.

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.

Views differ. The US lists chromium as critical in 2025, as it did in 2018, while the EU does not (Pitron). EU supply risk is 0.7, below the threshold of 1.0, though economic importance is high at 7.2. EU import reliance is only 7% for ore, thanks to Finnish mining, but 42% at processing. India's 2023 list omits it. USGS says chromium has no substitute in stainless steel or superalloys. The core risk is concentration: South Africa mines over half the ore and dominates exports, while China leads smelting.

EU 2023 Not critical US 2025 list Yes India 2023 list No Production HHI 3,340 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). Chromium: supply risk 0.7, economic importance 7.2. EU import reliance, extraction 7% EU import reliance, processing 42% EU recycling input rate 21% US net import reliance, 2025 79% share of apparent consumption

Substitutes

No substitute in stainless steel or superalloys; chromium-containing scrap can replace ferrochromium in some metallurgical uses