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The Briefing
- The U.S. is 100% import dependent on manganese and graphite
- China and Canada are the two nations the U.S. is most import reliant on
America’s Import Dependency for Disruptive Materials
The U.S. is expected to see surging demand for disruptive materials, which are those deemed to have high level importance for their role in next generation technologies. But many of these disruptive materials like manganese, cobalt, and lithium are primarily imported from foreign countries.
This graphic from Global X ETFs takes a closer look at Americas reliance on net imports for these disruptive materials. Countries are ranked by how many commodities of which the U.S. is a net importer. And net importer is defined as over 50% of domestic use or consumption comes from foreign sources rather than domestic production.
Ranking Country Reliance
The U.S. imports commodities from a lot of countries, including from economic rivals. And these commodities include well known ones like nickel, zinc, and lithium, which are critical to climate-friendly technologies. However, the data reveals that there are a select number of countries where dependency is highest. Here’s a look at the top eight countries.
| Country | Number of Commodities Net Import Reliant |
|---|---|
| China | 19-23 |
| Canada | 13-18 |
| Russia | 7-12 |
| India | 7-12 |
| Brazil | 7-12 |
| South Africa | 7-12 |
| Germany | 7-12 |
| Mexico | 7-12 |
The U.S. is most dependent on China where they are net import reliant on 19-23 different commodities, followed by Canada with 13-18. In addition, the U.S. is 100% import reliant on manganese and graphite, and 76% import reliant on cobalt.
As these materials become increasingly important for AI, robotics, drone technology, as well as for climate infrastructure like solar panels and wind turbines, nations will desire to bolster their own supply chains and be less reliant on other countries. This may also accelerate due to the pandemic highlighting the fragility behind global supply chains.
Overall, this creates an environment where the market for disruptive materials will see extended periods of high demand and rising prices, otherwise known as a demand supercycle.
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