Effective August 27! The US temporarily restricts exports of tungsten scrap and lithium battery recycling black powder.

On August 5, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a new interim rule, imposing export controls on tungsten scrap and metal mixtures obtained from the crushing of spent lithium batteries (commonly known in the industry as "black powder/Black Mass") starting August 27. The control period is initially set for one year.

According to the rule requirements, relevant material suppliers are generally required to prioritize sales to the U.S. domestic market and are prohibited from exporting without permission; affected companies can apply for exemptions on a case-by-case basis to regulatory authorities. Under specific conditions, companies may also commission overseas processing, provided that the refined metal products are shipped back to the United States.

This policy is implemented under the "Defense Production Act" with the original intention of securing the U.S. domestic supply chain for recycling critical minerals. Since 2015, there has been no commercial tungsten mining in the U.S., making recycled tungsten an important source of domestic tungsten supply; lithium battery recycling black powder contains battery metal resources such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt, making it a core recycled raw material for the new energy industry.