Mr. Hugues Jacquemin reports

NORTHERN GRAPHITE COMMENTS ON US DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PRELIMINARY DECISION TO PLACE TARIFFS OF UP TO 721% ON CHINA GRAPHITE AAM

Northern Graphite Corp. has commented on a U.S. Department of Commerce preliminary decision to impose tariffs of up to 721 per cent on natural and artificial graphite active anode material (AAM) from China.

"While still preliminary, this marks an important development for North American producers and for Northern Graphite in particular. As the only current producer of natural graphite in North America -- and with plans to build a battery materials facility in Canada -- we are positioned to help meet the growing demand for secure, local and sustainable anode material supply," said Northern chief executive officer Hugues Jacquemin. "The U.S. Department of Commerce's decision sets the stage for meaningful anti-subsidy duties on Chinese graphite active anode material and marks a major step toward levelling the playing field and creating local demand."

The decision is the result of an investigation by Commerce to assess whether the Chinese government is subsidizing the production and supply of graphite AAM to the United States. Commerce is due to issue a second preliminary decision in July on an antidumping investigation into Chinese graphite imports. A final determination for both investigations will be issued around Dec. 5, 2025.

AAM is produced by upgrading graphite mine concentrates for use in lithium ion batteries and it is their largest component. Approximately 90 per cent of this upgrading is currently done in China, spurring other regions to take actions like implementing tariffs and strategic raw materials acts to help establish the industry in the West and build independent supply chains.

"On May 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its preliminary affirmative determination in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of active anode material from the People's Republic of China (China). Commerce is also conducting concurrent antidumping duty (AD) investigation of active anode material from China," Commerce stated on its website.

The anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases were initiated by the American Active Anode Material Producers (AAAMP) alongside other North American AAM industry petitioners with Commerce and the International Trade Commission (ITC) in December, 2024.

About Northern Graphite Corp.

Northern, the only flake graphite producing company in North America, is a Canadian-, TSX Venture Exchange-listed company that is focused on becoming a world leader in producing natural graphite and upgrading it into high-value products critical to the green economy, including anode material for lithium-ion batteries/EVs (electric vehicles), fuel cells and graphene, as well as advanced industrial technologies. The company's mine-to-battery strategy is spearheaded by its battery materials division, which has a fully equipped, state-of-the-art laboratory in Frankfurt and is focused on developing advanced anode materials to improve the cycle life and increase the charging rate of lithium ion batteries.

Northern's graphite assets include the producing Lac des Iles mine in Quebec where the company plans to increase production to meet growing demand from industrial customers and coming demand from North American battery makers. The company also owns the large-scale, advanced-stage Bissett Creek project in Ontario, the Mousseau project in Quebec and the fully permitted Okanjande graphite mine in Namibia that is currently on care and maintenance. All projects have battery quality graphite and are located close to infrastructure in politically stable jurisdictions.

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