Lead battery industry leaders in the US have welcomed new controls aimed at controlling exports of recoverable critical battery minerals including lead, tin and antimony.

Battery Council International said a directive issued by President Donald Trump on July 30 addressed longstanding concerns of the battery recycling industry and would support the domestic battery supply chain and national security.

The ‘presidential determination’ and memorandum, to US commerce secretary Howard Lutnik, defined recoverable critical minerals and materials as including black mass, end-of-life, rare-earth permanent magnets or other goods that have fully completed the manufacturing process; swarf; and other waste and scrap containing critical minerals and materials. 

BCI said the US lead battery industry alone supports 106,000 direct jobs and more than $35 billion in industrial output — and the trade body’s board adopted a resolution in 1999 opposing the export of used batteries to recycling facilities outside North American countries that are known or suspected to use environmentally unsound practices.

The control of critical mineral exports is an important step, as are other efforts including policies that support domestic manufacturing investment, recycling infrastructure, and permitting certainty, the trade body said.

BCI president and executive director Roger Miksad said the directive publicly recognised what the battery industry had long understood — that materials recovered from end-of-life batteries are strategic assets.

“Every ounce of critical battery materials that we recycle at home is an ounce we don’t have to import from strategic competitors.

“US battery manufacturers have been supporting the domestic economy for more than a century and are working hard to expand domestic recycling infrastructure. However, they need regulatory reform and controls to help level the playing field against overseas competitors who have an unfair economic advantage.”

The US government said in August 2025 that lead was to be added to the nation’s list of critical minerals.

BCI warned in September 2025 that while the North American lead battery industry was thriving, a deficit in locally available materials meant there was still a reliance on imports.