In the second quarter of 2024, the United States imported approximately 191,200 metric tons of lithium-ion batteries. The leading importer was China, with 82 percent of the total li-ion.
How much Li-ion battery does the US import from China?
According to the US Census Bureau, in 2023, the United States directly imported $13.1 billion in lithium-ion batteries from China, accounting for 70 percent all US li-ion battery imports in 2023, as measured in value. US li-ion imports are split between storage and batteries for electric vehicles.
Why is China so successful in battery manufacturing?
“China's success [in battery manufacturing] results from its large domestic battery demand, 72GWh, and control of 80% of the world's raw material refining, 77% of the world's cell capacity and 60% of the world's component manufacturing.” China's domination of the lithium battery market for EVs was no accident.
According to data extracted from the UN Comtrade Database, China accounted for the vast majority of U.S. battery imports last year, with a total trade value of $9.3 billion. South Korea and Japan are also popular sources with batteries worth $1.3 and $1.0 billion imported to the U.S. in 2022.
Chinese li-ion battery exports are largely bound for the European Union and North America. Chinese battery exports to USMCA are highly correlated with EV manufacturing capacity and solar installed capacity, which are often paired with battery energy storage systems.
In the second quarter of 2024, the United States imported approximately 191,200 metric tons of lithium-ion batteries. The leading importer was China, with 82 percent of the total li-ion battery imports to the U.S.. Over 90 percent of the imports came from only five countries: China, South Korea, Poland, Hungary, and Japan.
What are China's Lithium-ion battery exports & US decarbonization goals?
Chinese li-ion battery exports and US decarbonization objectives China's global lithium-ion battery exports reached $65 billion in 2023, up nearly 400 percent from pre-COVID levels in 2019. More than half of these 2023 exports were shipped to the European Union and the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free trade zone.