Why Biden Is Imposing Tariffs on Chinese Graphite, and the Impact on US Industry: Planet Money : NPR

Graphite sample from Westwater Resources in Coosa County, Alabama.

Sally Helm/NPR

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Sally Helm/NPR

Graphite sample from Westwater Resources in Coosa County, Alabama.

Sally Helm/NPR

Graphite is the one-hit wonder of the mineral world. And that wonder? The pencil. When it comes to graphite, everyone loves to talk about the pencil. If graphite were to give a concert, they would end the show with “The Pencil” and everyone would applaud. But the real graphite fans would yell “Batteries!” Because graphite is a key ingredient in another important thing we use in our daily lives: the lithium-ion battery.

Almost all of the world’s graphite for batteries comes from one place: China. In fact, the same is true for many materials used in batteries, such as processed lithium and processed cobalt. That’s why earlier this year, President Biden announced a tariff package This will make a large number of Chinese imports more expensive. The package also includes tariffs on Chinese graphite. He hopes to create a new battery future – one that is less dependent on China.

In this episode, we delve into this big supply chain story through the lens of a critical mineral. We visit a small town that realized it might be the perfect place to create an American graphite industry. We discover that it’s one thing to announce a new battery future, but quite another to make it happen.

This episode was hosted by Sally Helm and Keith Romer. It was produced by Emma Peaslee and edited by Jess Jiang. Fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and designed by James Willets. Alex Goldmark is Planet MoneyExecutive producer of

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