Doing The Biden Backstep - It Didn't Take Long "Bye America"

SEE ALSO: Chinese Manufacturers Will Benefit The Most From California EV Edict

The new electric vehicle requirements in the Inflation Reduction Act (SIC) are strong incentives for auto makers to produce batteries in the U.S. Honda, Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Hyundai-Kia, Stellantis and VinFast have all announced plans for ten U.S. battery plants. The federal $7,500 EV purchase credit requires the vehicle to have a battery built in North America with 40% of the metals mined or recycled on the continent. Demand for EVs is expected to grow. LMC Automotive expects EVs to be 5.6% of U.S. new vehicle sales this year and rise to more than 36% by 2030.

BUT! - The AP reports the new federal credit for U.S. buyers of qualifying EVs made in North America has ignited a possible trade war. The EV credit is intended to incentive domestic battery and vehicle production. Auto makers in Europe and South Korea which sell millions of vehicles in the U.S. have threatened to lodge a complaint with the World Trade Organization. Official describe the EV credit as discriminatory against foreign producers in relation to U.S. producers.

BUT!- The Biden administration is asking for a waiver of "Buy American" rules for federally-funded electric vehicle chargers to more rapidly roll out the infrastructure needed to scale up EV adoption. Domestic content rules say 100% of steel, iron, and manufactured goods made mostly of steel and iron in federal highway projects must be made in the United States. But only a handful companies can build fast EV chargers that would meet the requirements, according to a filing submitted Wednesday by the Federal Highway Administration.