US Bans 1-Year Exports of Black Mass and Tungsten Scrap to Secure Military Supply Chains
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Aug 5
US Bans 1-Year Exports of Black Mass and Tungsten Scrap to Secure Military Supply Chains
3 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Aug 5
Summary
A year-long US ban on exports of black mass and tungsten waste and scrap takes effect later this month, requiring sellers to keep those materials in the domestic market unless they win an exception.
Trump ordered the restrictions last week after warning that inadequate supplies of certain metals threaten national defense, as Washington tries to cut reliance on Chinese-controlled critical minerals.
Tungsten has become especially tight as wars in Iran and Ukraine, global rearmament and Chinese export curbs drive prices sharply higher; the metal is used in munitions and the US has no active tungsten mines.
Black mass contains lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and graphite, but US processing capacity remains limited, meaning much of it has been recycled in Asia even as Washington pushes more domestic recovery.
The move marks one of the first US export curbs of its kind in recent history and aligns with broader western efforts, including EU limits on black mass exports from November.