The Electric: In His First Months, Trump Has Built on Biden’s Battery Policy

Polymetallic nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific. Photo: Courtesy The Metals Co.

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has denigrated electric vehicles and imposed tariffs on EV and battery parts that will make it far harder for carmakers to earn profits on the sale of the vehicles. But his first 100 days in power have been a clear winner for one segment of the industry—the miners and processors of the handful of metals critical to making EVs run.