U.S. attempts to take on a Chinese-style industrial policy have left the world’s electric vehicle battery makers in a state of anxiety.
Signed into law last month, the Inflation Reduction Act, or the IRA, aims to overhaul electric vehicle tax credits and is designed to ensure that final assembly of powerpacks and EV happens in North America, while keeping Chinese materials for batteries out of the supply chain. To do this, the policy has addressed demand and supply by putting in place new incentives for advanced domestic manufacturing and revamping existing ones for buyers.
All of this pushes the U.S. toward a greener future. But working to shut out the largest market and maker of EV batteries in the world is short-sighted. That’s because almost every manufacturer operating in the U.S., or elsewhere, leans on China — not just for raw materials, but for refining them and then ultimately making the powerpacks. In the value chain, the country dominates with 92% of processed materials, 71% of cell assembly and 65% of battery components.
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