Department of Commerce Issues Temporary Final Rule Restricting Black Mass and Tungsten Exports

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the U.S. Department of Commerce has issued a temporary final rule under the Defense Production Act (DPA) mandating a 100 percent domestic sales requirement for specified black mass and tungsten “waste and scrap products.”

Under the rule, which is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register today with restrictions set to take effect on August 27, U.S. entities must allocate all monthly sales of covered materials domestically unless granted an adjustment or exception by BIS. Consequently, exports of these scrap products will generally require explicit authorization from BIS.

The rule applies to the following Schedule B export codes:

• 8101.97.00.00 – Tungsten waste and scrap
• 8549.13.00.00 – Electrical and electronic waste and scrap of primary cells, primary batteries, and electric accumulators; spent primary cells, spent primary batteries, and spent electric accumulators; sorted by chemical type and not containing lead, cadmium, or mercury (only when the material meets the rule’s definition of black mass)
• 8549.14.00.00 – Electrical and electronic waste and scrap of primary cells, primary batteries, and electric accumulators; spent primary cells, spent primary batteries, and spent electric accumulators; unsorted and not containing lead, cadmium, or mercury (only when the material meets the rule’s definition of black mass)
• 8549.19.00.00 – Electrical and electronic waste and scrap of primary cells, primary batteries, and spent electric accumulators; other (only when the material meets the rule’s definition of black mass)

Importantly, this rule only applies to the Schedule B codes listed above when they qualify as black massby definition, which is defined by the Federal Register as “any shredded lithium-ion battery scrap that contains cathode material (which may include aluminum, copper, iron, lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese), anode material (graphite, silicon) or other residual battery cell materials.”

ReMA Action and How You Can Help

ReMA is currently evaluating the potential impact of this temporary final rule on our membership and the broader industry, as well as developing our strategy for responding to the Administration. 

Members that export black mass or tungsten waste and scrap are encouraged to provide any relevant information, such as export data, market information, processing capacities and capabilities, or other potential impacts, to Adam Shaffer, Erin McCoy, and Emily Sanchez as soon as possible, to help inform ReMA advocacy strategy and messaging.