Trump Administration Reportedly Imposes 93.5% Tariff On Chinese Imports Of Graphite, A Key Battery Material

The U.S. Department of Commerce reportedly announced on Thursday the imposition of 93.5% tariffs on Chinese imports of graphite, a key material used in batteries.

According to a Bloomberg report, the Commerce Department’s preliminary imposition of anti-dumping duties on graphite was announced after it found that the Chinese government had unfairly subsidized the materials.

A final ruling is expected by December 5, according to the department.

This comes after a report stated that President Donald Trump had softened his stance on China as he looks to secure a trade deal with the country and a summit with President Xi Jinping.

The report added that President Trump is among the least hawkish voices on China in his staff meetings. He also told reporters on Tuesday that he would fight China “in a very friendly fashion.”

Earlier in December last year, a trade group, the American Active Anode Material Producers, filed a complaint alleging that China was engaging in the “manipulation” of the global graphite market.

“There is overwhelming evidence that China dumps artificially cheap graphite into global markets, which is made possible by state-sponsored policies and massive subsidies,” the group said at the time.

It added that experts have assessed the appropriate tariffs on graphite imports from China to be 920%, stating that the existing 25% levy is “too low” considering the country's “malicious trade practices.”

Meanwhile, U.S. equities exhibited optimism in Thursday’s midday trade as investors digested earnings of big companies through the week so far.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was up 0.49% at the time of writing, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.82%. However, retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits has been in the ‘bearish’ territory over the past week.

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