TAMPA, Fla. \u2014\u00a0A Tampa company aiming to manufacture lithium batteries in the United States is facing delays as critical equipment remains stuck at the port due to tariff policies.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
The Lithium Battery Company plans to produce batteries in the U.S.
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The company’s equipment has been stuck in Port Tampa Bay for months
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The CEO says the company is facing struggles, but is confident the business has a bright future<\/p>\n
The project aligns with President\u00a0Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cAmerica First\u201d agenda, which called for a resurgence in domestic manufacturing.<\/p>\n
The Lithium Battery Company had expected to begin production last year after purchasing machinery from China. However, that equipment is currently held at\u00a0Port Tampa Bay, creating delays that the company\u2019s owner says are costing time, money, and jobs before production has even started.<\/p>\n
At the company\u2019s facility in South Tampa, CEO Nathan Staron walks through an empty factory, pointing out where the equipment should be installed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very large, sophisticated machine\u2014we have five production lines that are going to fill up this entire space,\u201d Staron said.<\/p>\n
Staron said he purchased the equipment in China because it can only be found there, and had planned to have it installed in the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had everything planned out to get our equipment installed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Instead, the machinery remains at the port.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have 18 40-foot shipping containers sitting at the port outside\u2014stacked on top of each other,\u201d Staron said.<\/p>\n
He had hoped to be in full production mode by May last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been a long journey since we\u2019ve ordered this equipment\u2014it\u2019s sad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Staron said the issue began after applying for tariff exemptions through the\u00a0Office of the United States Trade Representative. The exemption process is intended to provide relief for importing specialized equipment used in automated assembly lines.<\/p>\n
He later learned that the application is on hold. The delay is costing the company both time and money.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have rent to pay\u2014bills to pay\u2014unfortunately, we have had to lay off our entire team,\u201d Staron said.<\/p>\n
He said the application is under review as part of the USTR\u2019s Section 301 investigation into China.<\/p>\n
In 2024, the exclusion process was opened under President\u00a0Joe Biden, allowing companies to seek tariff relief on specialized manufacturing equipment.<\/p>\n
Staron said his company filed before the March 2025 deadline. The application remains active but on hold.<\/p>\n
The company is now facing $1,500 per day in storage fees, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a really unfortunate example of what tariffs do,\u201d Abby Hall, an associate professor of economics at the University of Tampa, said.<\/p>\n
She says that onshoring manufacturing can be complex.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the U.S. government is asking for is a justification for importing these materials,\u201d Hall said. \u201cHere you have an example of someone who is attempting to do what the policy is intended to do\u2014but is finding he\u2019s actually caught in the crossfire of the policy itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the delays, Staron said he remains determined.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been a long journey since we\u2019ve ordered this equipment\u2014it\u2019s sad\u2014but I\u2019m very determined to get this place moving and rolling and making battery packs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Spectrum News reached out to the USTR for an update on the company\u2019s application but has not received a response.<\/p>\n
Staron also applied for an exclusionary trade zone, which would allow him to move the equipment into the facility and begin preparations. That request has not yet been approved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. \u2014\u00a0A Tampa company aiming to manufacture lithium batteries in the United States is facing delays as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3140,2031,274,558,4029,115,99,135,137,136,278,835],"class_list":["post-212441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-app-local-state-politics","tag-app-local-business","tag-app-top-stories","tag-business","tag-jeff-van-sant","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-top-stories","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}