Export controls to prevent the People’s Republic of China from exploiting items such as black mass and certain other products produced in the United States

(a)

Purpose

The purpose of this Act is to facilitate resilient critical mineral supply chains and promote the development of domestic processing, sustainable recycling and recovery of critical materials from spent lithium-ion batteries, limit predatory price inflation by the People’s Republic of China, and encourage a domestic battery recycling and recycled material processing industry.(b)

Amendments

(1)

In general

Part I of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4811 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 1758 the following:

1758A.

Export controls to prevent the People’s Republic of China from exploiting items such as black mass and certain other products produced in the United States

(a)

In general

Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall require a license for the export, reexport, or in-country transfer of covered items if the end-user is a foreign adversary or foreign adversary entity.(b)

Licensing requirements

The Secretary shall deny any license application for the export, re-export, or in-country transfer of black mass if the end-user is a foreign adversary or a foreign adversary entity.(c)

Definitions

In this section—(1)the term black mass—(A)means intermediate material produced from the mechanical processing of spent lithium-ion batteries, cathode active material, and anode active material that includes a mixture of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese, and graphite; and(B)does not include intact batteries, partially disassembled batteries, or any component of the battery that has not been subjected to mechanical processing;(2)the term covered item means—(A)black mass; and(B)swarf;(3)term foreign adversary means—(A)the People’s Republic of China, including all Special Administrative Regions;(B)the Republic of Cuba;(C)the Islamic Republic of Iran;(D)the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; (E)the Russian Federation; and(F)any country determined by the Secretary, in consultation with other relevant Federal officials, to have engaged in a long-term pattern or serious instances of conduct significantly adverse to the national security of the United States or security and safety of United States persons;(4)the term foreign adversary entity means—(A)a foreign entity subject to the jurisdiction of, or organized under the laws of, a foreign adversary;(B)a foreign entity that is more than 25 percent owned, directed, controlled, financed, or influenced directly or indirectly by the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, or the Chinese military, including any entity for which the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, or the Chinese military has the ability, through ownership of a majority or a dominant minority of the total outstanding voting interest in the entity, board representation, proxy voting, a special share, contractual arrangements, formal or informal arrangements to act in concert, or other means, to determine, direct, or decide for the entity in an important manner; or(C)a foreign entity owned, directed, or controlled by a foreign entity described in subparagraph (A) or (B);(5)the term permanent magnet means Neodymium Iron Boron magnets and Samarium Cobalt magnets; and(6)the term swarf means intermediate material produced from the mechanical processing to shape and produce permanent magnets with a composition that includes Neodymium Iron Boron, Samarium Cobalt, Aluminum Nickel Cobalt, or end-of-life permanent magnet waste materials.

(2)

Clerical amendments

The tables of contents in section 2(b) and title XVII of division A of Public Law 115–232 are each amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1758 the following:

Sec. 1758A. Export controls to prevent the People’s Republic of China from exploiting items such as black mass and other products produced in the United States.