The US on Thursday unveiled preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5 percent on imports of a key battery component from China, after looking into a petition on the matter.
Final determinations regarding duties on graphite are expected in early December, the US Department of Commerce said.
Its investigation came after a petition late last year by the American Active Anode Material Producers, an ad hoc coalition including US graphite producers.
Photo: Reuters
Graphite is an important raw material used in making anodes of batteries and China is a dominant player when it comes to its processing capacity of graphite.
The duty could raise temperatures in the global electric vehicle supply chain, potentially adding to costs for automakers who rely on the material for production.
The products covered under the investigation include active anode material, whether or not they are contained in finished batteries.
China and the US are now engaged in negotiations about their broader economic relationship after reaching a framework for a deal last month, stepping back from the brink of a spiraling trade war.
Asked about the new graphite duties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that “the essence of China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutual benefit and win-win results.”
“It is hoped the US side will conscientiously abide by the rules of the market economy, and maintain the healthy and stable development of China-US economic and trade relations,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian (林劍) said.
The commerce department’s notice came as a group of US solar panel manufacturers on Thursday asked the US government to impose tariffs on imports from Indonesia, India and Laos, accusing companies there of dumping cheap goods on the market to undercut new US factories.
The Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, which filed the petition, says Chinese-owned companies shifted production from nations that received US tariffs to Indonesia and Laos, and also accuses Indian-headquartered manufacturers of dumping cheap goods in the US.
Imports from the three nations combined were US$1.6 billion last year, up from US$289 million in 2022, the petitioners said.
The commerce department has 20 days to decide whether to initiate an investigation into whether to impose tariffs. Anti-dumping and countervailing trade cases typically take about a year to result in finalized tariffs.
The group has succeeded previously in winning tariffs on imports from nations in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. Those tariffs were finalized earlier this year.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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