More critical raw materials from spent batteries, magnets, and industrial scrap are to remain in the country in order to reduce import dependence and strengthen supplies for the domestic defense industry.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday authorized the Department of Commerce to impose export restrictions on mineral-bearing scrap and secondary materials. According to the justification, the critical minerals and materials contained in these waste streams are scarce and essential for national defense. The heavy reliance on foreign suppliers poses a risk of supply disruptions. The legal basis is the Defense Production Act of 1950, which grants the president broad powers to intervene in the production and distribution of strategically important goods.
The measure specifically targets materials such as black mass recovered from end-of-life batteries, spent rare-earth permanent magnets, production scrap, and other metal-bearing waste streams. Copper scrap is exempt because it is already subject to separate regulations.
The order does not yet specify which products will be affected, to what extent, or when the restrictions will take effect. The Department of Commerce has been tasked with developing the corresponding rules and procedures.
Read more: The measure may be understood as a complement to the stricter raw-material requirements for the US defense industry that were tightened last week.
Photo: iStock/lucky-photographer
