The following press release was issued by the American Active Anode Material Producers (AAAMP), which was formed by the U.S.- based members of NAGA.

Washington, D.C. – Today, the American Active Anode Material Producers (AAAMP), a coalition of American graphite producers, applauds the preliminary determination of the International Trade Commission (ITC) that China has materially retarded the establishment of the domestic graphite industry by exporting artificially cheap graphite to the United States.

“Today is a win for the North American graphite industry. The ITC’s ruling validates the basis of our case: that China’s malicious trade practices are undercutting the ability of the domestic industry to grow,” said AAAMP spokesperson Erik Olson.

In December, AAAMP initiated a trade case with ITC and the Department of Commerce (Commerce), seeking tariffs as high as 920% on imports of natural and synthetic graphite from China used to make lithium-ion battery anode material.

“This formal acknowledgment by the U.S. government will hopefully bring renewed scrutiny of China’s malicious efforts to control the global critical minerals supply chain,” said Olson. “We are hopeful that as the case proceeds, the evidence will demonstrate that China dumps artificially cheap graphite into global markets, made possible by state-sponsored policies and massive subsidies.”

Now that the ITC has made its preliminary determination, the case will proceed simultaneously before Commerce and ITC under the jurisdiction of U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) statutes. Commerce will determine whether the Chinese government is subsidizing graphite production, with a preliminary determination expected on March 13^th; and, separately, if the graphite is being sold at less than fair value (“dumped”), with a preliminary determination expected on May 27^th. Under AD/CVD statutes, both deadlines are subject to extension.

China’s ability to overproduce goods is part of a malicious strategy made possible by massive subsidies and other financial incentives provided to companies by the Chinese government. While most graphite from China is currently subject to 25% tariffs, that duty is far too low. Experts at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, the law firm handling the case, estimate dumping margins as high as 920%, allowing China to absorb the additional 25% cost easily. This estimation was validated when Commerce initiated the trade investigation on January 8 and announced it calculated dumping margins up to 915%.

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