US will not impose steep duties on battery material from China

The United States will not impose steep duties on imports of a key battery component from China, after a federal agency ruled Thursday that the competition had not hampered the establishment of a domestic industry.

Following the International Trade Commission's 2-1 vote, "Commerce will not issue an antidumping duty order or a countervailing duty order" on imports of active anode material from China.

Graphite is the dominant active anode material in lithium-ion batteries, and is critical for both electric vehicles and energy storage systems.

The ruling came after the Commerce Department initially announced duties of around 160 percent on such imports from China, after an investigation into alleged subsidization of Chinese producers and pricing practices.

But the decision was subject to a final ruling by the International Trade Commission, companies said.

Westwater Resources, a firm focused on developing battery-grade natural graphite in the United States, said in February that the protectionist measures could help boost demand for US-made material.

Canadian miner Northern Graphite expressed disappointment with the removal of the 160 percent duties.

But it said it was still optimistic about the future of the North American graphite industry and would continue working with the Trump administration and others to help develop supply chains.

China is a dominant player when it comes to its processing capacity of graphite.