On Thursday, the US Commerce Department announced preliminary antidumping duties of 93.5% on Chinese graphite, a key component in electric vehicle batteries for companies including Tesla, saying China was selling goods abroad for lower than in its home market.
That brings the effective tariff rate on this product to 160%. About two-thirds of US imports of graphite products came from China last year, according to Bloomberg.
Tesla fell 0.7% yesterday on the news but today is up 0.5% in premarket trading. Meanwhile, US graphite producers Westwater Resources and GrafTech are surging ahead of the open.
A final decision from the Commerce Department is expected December 5.