There are aspects of this article that I think are both good and...

There are aspects of this article that I think are both good and bad for graphite.

CIF and FOB

CIF stands for Costs Insurance and Freight
FOB stands for Free On Board

CIF means that the seller is liable for costs (insurance and freight) and accepts liability for the product until it arrives at its destination.
FOB means the buyer is liable for the costs and risks of shipping once the product is loaded to the ship and departs.

FOB contracts can be more cost effective for the buyer because they can control/negotiate the various costs involved.

We should consider the actual costs incurred in FOB and not look at the two numbers as one and same.

The second concern is that PSG will be manufactured locally removing some of the shipping costs - based on this article they currently import graphite to convert but westwater plans to mine locally. The big question is, how many of those battery factories will operate at 100% and how much non local PSG is needed to fill any gaps?

Third concern is that the article focuses on local U.S production of battery cells. I keep asking the global question. From a global perspective, the US market alone is relatively small. I'm certain the companies like SK On, POSCO, Samsung EDI etc are looking to a broader picture.

Fourth concern is that this article highlights my previous post relating to products produced in the US will be FTA/IRA compliant but globally, that compliance could be a liability when their manufacturing base exports. The U.S are entering isolationism but they are need to compete globally. The FTA/IRA only helps America internally with subsidies and import tariffs supporting local manufacturing but doing little for export or global competition and potentially creating a multi priced scenario. If more western countries come on board with FTA/IRA then yes, it somewhat makes sense to prop local industries.

In summary, my understanding of the IRA/FTA is U.S protectionism of local manufacturing. It will not assist manufacturers to compete on a global scale and forces governmental support to industry - we saw how that went in Australia with ford and holden/gm. When comparing prices, keep in mind the differences between CIF and FOB as they are two different types of contract which on the surface could look beneficial.

Side note re CIF/FOB. Take for example the issue S32 recently had with a ship and storms. If the arrangement was CIF then S32 would be liable for the loss. If FOB then the customer was liable.