US bans exports of tungsten scrap, battery recycling materials

The United States has imposed a one-year ban on exports of tungsten scrap and "black mass" — a battery recycling byproduct — as Washington steps up efforts to secure critical mineral supply chains and reduce dependence on China, The US Bureau of Industry and Security has announced.

It said exports of black mass, produced by shredding used batteries, and tungsten scrap used in defence supply chains will be prohibited for one year, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Financial Times.

Under the new rules, the materials may only be sold to U.S. buyers unless an exemption or special authorisation is granted. The restrictions will take effect later this month.

China dominates global production of a wide range of critical minerals used in the defence, technology and energy sectors. Beijing has increasingly restricted exports of some materials amid its trade dispute with Washington, highlighting the risks of Western reliance on a single supplier.

President Donald Trump last week directed the Commerce Department to introduce the export restrictions, saying the "inadequate supply" of certain critical metals "poses an increasing risk to our national defense and security."

Tungsten, widely used in munitions, has become increasingly scarce due to global rearmament, the wars involving Iran and Ukraine, and Chinese export restrictions. Prices for the metal have surged sharply this year.

Although the United States has no active tungsten mines, it does have facilities capable of processing tungsten scrap. However, industry experts say existing capacity is insufficient to recycle all available scrap into finished products.

Some U.S. companies had urged the White House to ban tungsten scrap exports, arguing that Chinese buyers operating in the United States were paying premium prices to acquire the material before shipping it back to China.

According to data from research group Project Blue, U.S. exports of tungsten scrap to recycling hubs in the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and South Korea have increased this year.

Black mass typically contains valuable battery materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and graphite. However, the United States has limited domestic capacity to process the material, with much of it currently shipped to Asia for recycling into reusable raw materials.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov