OREANDA-NEWS. The US Department of Commerce has launched an investigation into imports of vanadium from Russia and China. In particular, the agency intends to find out whether the current volumes of imported products threaten the country’s national security.

The decision on it was made after American vanadium producers (AMG Vanadium LLC and U.S. Vanadium LLC) filed a petition in November 2019. They argue that the interests of domestic producers are hurt by the low cost of imported vanadium, restrictions on export markets existing because of tax regimes and the influence of industrial policies in Russia and China.

According to the US Geological Survey, in 2019, the dependence of the country on imports of vanadium was 94 % of the total consumption, and the main suppliers of this metal were Austria, Canada, Russia and South Korea. In 2015–2018, the main sources of imports of ferrovanadium (an alloy of iron with vanadium) in the United States were Austria (48 %), Canada (22 %), Russia (14 %) and South Korea (11 %). Vanadium pentoxide was mainly imported from South Africa (44 %), Brazil (29 %) and China (11 %).