Tellurium: Movement
Why the US exports copper telluride but imports metal
What this tab covers How it flows between countries: the largest bilateral trade routes drawn on a world map, 2024 UN Comtrade export and import values with the top exporters and importers by share, plus shipping routes, chokepoints and trade restrictions.Tellurium shares its trade code, HS 2804.50, with boron, so flows are described from USGS import data. In 2021–24, US imports came from Canada (64%), the Philippines (14%), Japan (8%) and Germany (5%). The United States produces copper telluride but refines no tellurium, so it exports the intermediate and imports refined metal. Since February 2025 Chinese exporters must verify end users, and licences take about 45 days. That squeezed Europe hardest, which then drew spot metal from the US market.
No distinct HS trade code for this commodity, so trade flows are not charted.