By Ernest Scheyder
Aug 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday it will block exports of tungsten scrap and battery waste, part of a push to boost the domestic recycling industry and critical mineral production.
The move, which was expected, comes after President Donald Trump last week signed an order giving federal officials the power to limit the overseas shipment of scrap containing valuable critical minerals to China and other countries.
The order prohibits the export of so-called
black mass, which is essentially shredded lithium-ion batteries, as well as scrap containing tungsten, a metal used to harden steel and used widely in defense applications.
The action is the latest in a broader U.S. push to reduce reliance on China, which dominates global processing of critical minerals used in everything from EV batteries to weapons systems. Washington has increasingly used export controls, tariffs and domestic incentives to try to rebuild a U.S. supply chain, as tensions with Beijing over minerals access have escalated.
The order, published in the Federal Register, goes into effect on August 27 and runs for one year, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security said.
"It's great to see the administration recognize the importance of recycling recoverable critical materials from scrap," said Zubeyde Oysul, a critical minerals policy manager at SAFE, a Washington-based think tank.
Waivers may be issued on a case-by-case basis only if companies can show "undue hardship" or "irreparable harm," according to the order.
The U.S. exports nearly 33,000 metric tons per month of electronic waste and other scrap, much of it filled with critical minerals that can be recycled, according to data from the environmental group Basel Action Network.
Those exports have long irked the U.S. recycling industry, which has said that keeping the material in the country could help Washington better meet its minerals production.
Still, the U.S. does not have enough capacity to recycle all the scrap it produces. Several recyclers have also faced economic challenges in the past 18 months, including Li-Cycle and Ascend Elements, both of which filed for bankruptcy.
Amermin, a privately held tungsten recycling firm, praised Thursday's move but said the country needs to do more to increase its ability to handle scrap.
"This ban is a band-aid," said Ryan McAdams, Amermin's CEO. "It's going to buy us more time, but we've got to start building up the infrastructure here stateside."
Amermin last year received an $11.5 million grant from the Energy Department but has not yet received the funds. The company's commercial recycling facility would have been opened at least six months ago if it had access to those funds, McAdams said.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
