As national governments supercharge the drive toward electrification, the scramble to secure supplies of Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) batteries is fueling major investments in mines, factories, and R&D. Global trade data is capturing signs of shifting cross-border supply...
Li-ion Batteries Drive Chinese Lithium Imports
Lithium, last year’s hottest metal, looks set to be even hotter in 2017. With the new year barely a day old, mineral exploration company Birimian announced the sale of its Bougouni lithium project in southern Mali to China’s Shandong Mingrui Group. The deal signals...
Hot Metal: Lithium in Global Trade
Lithium is this year’s “hottest metal,” says USA Today, beating out gold, with another price spike expected this fall. There are no exchange reference prices for lithium as there are for gold. The Financial Times cites estimates from the research group Mineral...
Fueling Speculation: Gigafactory’s Need for Lithium
We called it a new HS code for Tesla – the new Harmonized System tariff code that distinguishes lithium-ion batteries imported to run electric vehicles from all the rest of Li-Ion batteries destined for digital devices, appliances and power tools. But, of course,...
U.S. Moves to Build Supply Chain Resiliency: How Importers Can Mitigate Disruption
The Biden Administration has announced plans to strengthen the resiliency of critical U.S. supply chains to protect American industries from shortages that were exacerbated by COVID-19, significantly impacting earnings prospects in several key U.S. industries. But...
Global Trade Data: Anxiety over EV Battery Metals, as the Biden Administration focuses on U.S. Supply Chain Resiliency
Public policy, private investment, and technological advances are making electric vehicles (EV) a practical alternative for more car owners. While the market is bullish on accelerating EV sales, there are worries, global trade data shows, about assuring supplies of...
Hot Pursuit: Competition for EV Battery Metals Revs Up
A global scramble is on to secure supplies of EV battery metals – the cobalt, graphite and lithium – that go into the batteries that make electric vehicles go. The global market’s growing embrace of electric vehicles is driving demand, and sparking volatility...
U.S. Renewable Energy Trends: Measuring the Balance
The U.S. is due to swing back to a net exporter of energy in four years, with some help from increasing domestic consumption of renewable energy. But what about overall U.S. renewable energy trends? Early indicators reveal mixed results. In February, the U.S. Energy...
U.S. Tariffs on Chinese Goods: Overview and Timeline
The world’s leading trade partners, the U.S. and China, are implementing tariffs on a growing list of goods. With new U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, companies that rely on imports or exports need solutions to keep pace with wide-ranging, rapid-fire changes in the...
10 Bellwether Trends in International Trade
Here are 10 trends in international trade with high potential to change the course of U.S. import-export trade in the year ahead. 1. Shifting Currents in Global Energy Flows The lifting of restrictions on U.S. oil exports together with the shale revolution have...