U.S. to Restrict Exports of Electronic Waste, Including Batteries, to Promote Recycling of Critical Minerals

[Financial News] U.S. President Donald Trump, locked in a standoff with China over rare earths and critical minerals, plans to block exports of electronic waste, including used batteries. He argued that the critical minerals contained in such waste should be recycled within the United States.
According to a fact sheet posted on The White House website on the 30th (local time), Trump referred to critical minerals and materials, or CMM, in a memorandum sent to the United States Department of Commerce that day. He said the department would be authorized to regulate exports so that recyclable CMM could not be shipped overseas if necessary. Trump defined CMM as black mass containing nickel, cobalt and manganese, produced by crushing and grinding battery waste or residues from battery manufacturing, as well as end-of-life rare earth permanent magnets and other fully processed products.
In the memorandum, Trump said, "The United States must take immediate action to secure a supply of recycled CMM," and instructed the commerce secretary to prepare appropriate measures under the Defense Production Act of 1950. He stressed that recyclable CMM is an essential industrial resource for strengthening national defense. He added, "A shortage of CMM supply in the United States is posing an increasingly serious risk to defense and security." Trump also emphasized, "The United States relies heavily on overseas imports for certain CMM, and that dependence risks causing severe and prolonged supply chain disruptions."
A Trump administration official told local media that the move was "part of a broader effort to promote domestic recycling and counter China’s dominance in materials essential to national security." According to the Basel Action Network, the United States exports about 33,000 tons of electronic waste each month. A significant amount of recyclable critical minerals, including lithium, is contained in that waste.
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