The Trump administration is imposing a substantial tariff on a raw material that is critical for electric vehicle batteries, which could significantly raise the cost of building EVs in the United States.

EV prices could go up by as much as $1,000 thanks to the Trump administration’s decision to impose a 93.5 percent tariff on graphite imports from China. Tesla lobbied against the levy, arguing that US-based graphite producers aren’t prepared to supply the essential battery material “at the quality and purity required by Tesla and other battery cell manufacturers.

President Donald Trump has imposed a 93.5% anti-dumping tariff on Chinese graphite, after the U.S. Commerce Department concluded that China had been selling the material in the U.S. at unfairly low prices.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday said he would not take orders over tariffs from a foreigner, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump, and later called the United States' threatened duty "unacceptable blackmail.

"No gringo is going to give orders to this president," Lula said, wearing a bright red shirt as he addressed a gathering of leftist student activists in the state of Goias. In Bra

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tells CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview it was “a surprise” to see President Donald Trump’s letter posted to Truth Social, threatening Brazil with a crippling tariff of 50% starting August 1st.