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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10376 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10376

To amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to prevent the People's 
Republic of China from exploiting items such as black mass and certain 
             other products produced in the United States.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 11, 2024

  Mr. Wittman (for himself, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Moolenaar, Mr. 
 Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Gimenez, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Torres of New York, and 
  Mr. Cline) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to prevent the People's 
Republic of China from exploiting items such as black mass and certain 
             other products produced in the United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. 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:

``SEC. 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.''.
                                 <all>
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