Batteries · graphite and anode material
Importing graphite and battery anode material from China
What a US buyer pays on graphite from China depends on whether it enters as natural graphite or as processed anode material: about 25% for the first, 37.5% to 42.4% for the second. The antidumping and countervailing duty case that would have added roughly 160% to 170% more (Commerce's final antidumping and countervailing rates combined) ended without orders in April 2026. On the Chinese side, graphite needs an export license, and a wider control on anode material is suspended until November 10, 2026.
Where graphite is classified
| HTS | Product | Normal (MFN) duty |
|---|---|---|
| 2504.10.10, 2504.10.50, 2504.90.00 | Natural graphite | Free |
| 3801.10.50 | Artificial graphite (suffix .10: surface-modified spherical graphite) | Free |
| 3801.10.10 | Artificial graphite, plates, rods and similar | 3.7% |
| 3801.90.00 | Other (suffix .10: active anode material containing silicon) | 4.9% |
| 8507.90.80 | Parts of lithium-ion and other non-lead-acid batteries | 3.4% |
Rates from the USITC tariff schedule, 2026 Revision 21. Where a particular anode powder or coated material falls among these lines is a classification question for each product.
The duty stack today
| Line | MFN | Section 301 (China) | Forced-labor duty | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2504 natural graphite | Free | +25% (9903.91.06, from Jan. 1, 2026) | Exempt | 25% |
| 3801.10.50 | Free | +25% (List 3) | +12.5% | 37.5% |
| 3801.90.00 | 4.9% | +25% (List 3) | +12.5% | 42.4% |
| 8507.90.80 | 3.4% | +25% (List 1) | +12.5% | 40.9% |
The totals are our sums. The 25% on natural graphite comes from the 2024 Section 301 review (89 FR 76581). Natural graphite is on the list of goods exempt from the 12.5% forced-labor tariff (U.S. note 52(b)); the 3801 lines are not. None of the Section 301 exclusions still in force covers a 3801 line.
The anode-material AD/CVD case ended without orders
US producers petitioned on December 18, 2024 for antidumping and countervailing duties on active anode material from China (Commerce cases A-570-194 and C-570-195). The case went a long way before it stopped:
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| January 15, 2025 | Commerce initiates both investigations (90 FR 3792) |
| February 7, 2025 | USITC preliminary determination: affirmative, on material retardation of a US industry being established |
| May 28, 2025 | Preliminary countervailing duty of 6.55%, later amended to 11.58% |
| July 22, 2025 | Preliminary antidumping duties of 93.50%, and 102.72% China-wide |
| February 17, 2026 | Commerce final determinations: antidumping 93.50% and 102.72%; countervailing about 66.8% |
| April 3, 2026 | USITC final determination published: negative (91 FR 16968) |
The Commission found that "the establishment of an industry in the United States is not materially retarded by reason of imports of active anode material from China", with one commissioner dissenting. Without an affirmative injury finding no order issues, so no antidumping or countervailing duty is collected on new entries. Provisional deposits applied only to entries in the windows after each preliminary determination. We did not find a notice on how those deposits are being settled, or any court appeal; check with your broker if you imported in 2025.
The scope covered anode material on its own and "in a subassembly of a battery such as an electrode", but not anode material already inside cells, modules or packs. That distinction would matter again if a new petition were filed.
China's controls on graphite
- In force: graphite is on China's dual-use export control list as item 1C108 (MOFCOM Announcement No. 51 of 2024, in Chinese), so the Chinese exporter needs a license. 1C108.c covers natural flake graphite and its products, including spherical and expanded graphite; 1C108.b covers artificial graphite above set purity, strength and density thresholds. Whether a given anode powder meets the 1C108.b thresholds depends on its specification.
- Suspended until November 10, 2026: Announcement No. 58 of 2025 would control artificial-graphite anode material, blended anode material, and the equipment and process technology to make them. It was suspended the day before it was due to take effect, so it has never applied.
- Suspended until November 27, 2026: the stricter end-user review for graphite going to the US, under clause 2 of Announcement No. 46 of 2024.
Both suspensions are covered, with the extension announced in September, on China's export controls and the November deadline.
Graphite and the US tax credits
For the section 45X manufacturing credit, graphite counts as an applicable critical mineral when purified to at least 99.9% graphitic carbon by mass. The cost-ratio threshold for critical minerals under the 2025 entity rules is 0% for minerals sold from 2026 through 2029, then rises from 25% in 2030 to 50% after 2032 (26 U.S.C. 7701(a)(52)(C)). For a storage project's own credit, the test is different: see battery storage tax credits and Chinese-owned suppliers.
Sources: USITC HTS 2026 Revision 21; 89 FR 76581; Commerce and USITC notices in the Federal Register as linked (90 FR 3792, 91 FR 7247, 91 FR 7261, 91 FR 16968); USTR forced-labor notice, 91 FR 47318; MOFCOM Announcements No. 51 of 2024, No. 58 and No. 70 of 2025; 26 U.S.C. 45X and 7701(a)(52). Last checked October 14, 2026. General information, not customs or tax advice.
Last checked 2026-10-14