Graphite, the largest component by volume in an EV battery, can be synthetically produced or processed from naturally occurring sources. China is the largest producer of both types and earlier this month tightened exports of the metal to the US.
The American Active Anode Material Producers, a group of US and Canadian graphite producers, asked the US Department of Commerce and the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to “investigate whether China is exporting natural and synthetic graphite … at unfair prices to the United States” and to impose the tariff rate.
Chinese rivals operate at labor and environmental standards that allow them to rapidly boost production, the group said.
An existing US tariff of 25% on most Chinese graphite is “far too low” and can be absorbed easily by Chinese rivals, the group wrote to US officials.
The Commerce Department and the ITC did not immediately respond to an…
