Congress is getting an earful these days from America’s trade partners about the tax credits it is proposing on electric vehicles (EVs).
The complaint is that these tax credits, as written, are biased against imports, and run afoul of global trade rules. Canada and Mexico, for example, are talking about challenging the tax credits at the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Others, including Korea and Japan, say they might file disputes at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Last week, the European Union (EU) wrote to Senate leadership that, unless rewritten, the EV tax credits “will result in unjustified discrimination” against European cars and car parts. This letter is a game-changer, because the EU is credibly poised to retaliate.
First things first. As I’ve recently written, the tax credits come in at $12,500 per vehicle, but with protectionist fine print. The House’s Build Back Better proposes that $4,500 of this be contingent on the car being made by unionized labor, and that another $500 go to EVs with at least 50 percent U.S. content by value and have a U.S. battery. The full $12,500 tax credit would require both by 2027. The Senate’s version ties $2,500 to final assembly being done by unionized labor, and another $2,500 if the manufacturing facility is located in the US. By 2026, however, the full tax credit would require that both boxes be checked.
Tag: Europe (Page 2 of 4)
At issue is a provision in the US Build Back Better Act that offers an additional US$4,500 in tax credits to buyers of electric vehicles made by unionized U.S. workers on top of other incentives.
On Dec 2, 2021 Mexico threatened retaliation in the same EV tax credit dispute. The EU also warned the subsidies could inflame tensions. Canada took a more cautious public line, until today.
A bilateral spat over President Joe Biden’s proposed EV tax credit escalated Friday with Canada formally threatening retaliatory tariffs targeting the auto sector “and several other sectors of the U.S. economy” if the controversial provision remains intact.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and International Trade Minister Mary Ng sent a letter to eight Senate leaders outlining Canada’s concerns. It warns of the actions the government is ready to take if the current “discriminatory” tax credit in the Build Back Better legislation is passed.
“If there is no satisfactory resolution to this matter, Canada will defend its national interests, as we did when we were faced with unjustified tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum,” read the letter, referencing a 2018 trade dispute that Freeland was on the frontlines of at the time.
“Canada will have no choice but to forcefully respond by launching a dispute settlement process under the USMCA and applying tariffs on American exports in a manner that will impact American workers in the auto sector and several other sectors of the U.S. economy,” the letter read.
Elsewhere » Reuters
The companies said Friday they’ll set up a research facility in Gothenburg, Sweden next year that will sustain “a few hundred” jobs. They’ll decide on a specific location for their battery factory in the region early 2022.
…
Volvo Cars has gained more than a third since its October trading debut in Stockholm as investors bought into the company’s turnaround and promise of an electric future. The carmaker owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. plans to sell only fully electric vehicles by the end of this decade — up from 4% of shipments in the three months trough September.
Elsewhere » Automotive News Europe / Reuters
There will continue to be internal-combustion based models in Peugeot’s lineup for international buyers, Jackson added.
“As we move on to the new [Stellantis] platforms, STLA Small, Medium, Large, by 2030 in Europe all of our models will be electric,” Jackson told Automotive News Europe. “But I still have to make sure I maintain internal-combustion offerings for my international customers.”
Peugeot’s move would come five years ahead of the EU’s proposal to mandate only zero-emissions vehicles in 2035. A number of automakers have already announced they will be all-electric in Europe well ahead of that date.
Elsewhere » Autocar
Jenny Leonard and Jorge Valero / Bloomberg »
The European Union warned U.S. congressional leaders and members of President Joe Biden’s administration that the aggressive use of electric-vehicle credits in the pending Build Back Better Act could run afoul of international trade rules and create “friction” in the transatlantic relationship.
The EU’s trade chief, Valdis Dombrovskis, sent a letter dated Dec. 3 to officials including Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell saying that the government subsidies would discriminate against European car manufacturers, according to a copy of the letter seen by Bloomberg.
The American plan would offer an additional $4,500 in tax credits to consumers who buy cars made by U.S. manufacturers with union-represented workers, beyond an initial $7,500 that at first will apply to vehicles regardless of where they are made and five years later will apply only to those made in the U.S. Canada has spoken out against the subsidies and Mexico has threatened to retaliate.
The new entry-level Polestar 2 SR SM (front-wheel drive, 64 kWh battery), currently available in Europe, achieved solid results in Bjørn Nyland’s 1,000 km challenge.
EVs will make up just 4% of US car sales in 2021, compared with 9% in China and 14% in Europe and must drastically increase to hit 50% target by 2030.
This is in line with a distinct recent trend – while electric vehicles are on the rise in the US, with sales climbing at an annual rate of 28% between 2015 and 2020, the other major car markets have pulled significantly ahead. The electric vehicle fleet grew at 51% a year in China over the same five-year period, while Europe has seen a 41% annual increase.
A lack of federal government support for electric vehicles, cheap gasoline prices in the US and a paucity of charging infrastructure is holding back progress, the report by ING found, with a drastic increase to nearly 9m zero-emission car sales needed by 2030 to hit the administration’s goal.
“What happened is that Europe set new carbon dioxide limits for cars while Donald Trump took the US backwards,” said Margo Oge, who previously oversaw vehicle regulation at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in reference to the former president’s decision to weaken pollution standards for new vehicles. “The policies of the Trump administration are reflecting the US being behind. But the US can catch up if it does the right things.”