There needs to be some strings attached otherwise this will just fund more 90k 3 row electric SUV's. The Chevy Volt exists because that was part of the conditions of the GM bailout. More of that please.
Its about time. Tariffs on imports isn't enough by itself to spur domestic manufacturing, it just creates creates space in the market for native companies to grow into. Actually growing that manufacturing base requires resources.
Lets do solar panels next.
Why not subsidize by increasing the tax credit for consumers? Domestic companies that choose to turn that margin into profit, rather than supplement R&D costs, deserve to fail.
Once the factories come online and there's domestic product to buy, that will probably become an important component of the strategy to bring manufacturing back home.
On the other hand, tax credits don't benefit everyone who might want to buy an EV. For example, government agencies like the USPS would save nothing on the taxes they don't pay, but they would benefit from lower prices brought about through economies of scale in domestic manufacturing. Non-profit 501(c)(3) and not-for-profit 501(d) corporations likewise find tax credits to be unhelpful.
There is already domestic product to buy though, why wait for these specific factories?
The secondary (almost primary) problem is that the tariffs aren't guaranteed long term. You can't spend 5 years building a billion dollar electric vehicle manufacturing facility in the US and then have the tariffs lifted and China undercut the hell out of you because their batteries are locally sourced and they pay their employees $2.75/hour.
I think there was solar panel subsidies but they got rid of them because it got cheap. Essentially those that didn't get subsidies would just not enter the market because they would be competing in a market where others had a big advantage. They are hoping other companies now see it as viable. I have no opinions on this, I'm no economics major or anything.
Will probably go about as well as the semiconductor sites they financed from TSMC.
So we tariffed the hell out of China for subsidizing EV production cause it's not fair or something then just turned around and subsidized EV production cause we're the good guys or something?
China has spent far more. So yes it's a combination of trying to subsidize US production more in combination with tarrifs to make sure a domestic electric car industry can get off the ground too. Many countries in Europe are also making similar moves.
I don't know if it's really about "good guys" or "bad guys," it's about many countries, China included, wanting their own domestic production lines for cars.
If anything I would think government subsidies would be a preferable solution for people who had issues with the tarrifs. I would take this to be good news.
Seems too little too late. It was the U.S. car manufacturers that gutted the U.S. auto industry anyway... now they get a handout? Meanwhile the fossil fuel industry is subsidized to the tune of $20 bn a year, which decimated market competition for EVs.
I'm not gonna disagree with you that more could be done and that they should be pushing even faster, but would also point out this is just one specific action being described in the article among many more. It wasn't trying to describe all actions that have been taken to help with ev roll out. It was focused on some plants that were in danger of closing, and requires they be changed to electric car or plug in hybrid factories in the process, saving some unionized jobs in the process.
I admire how you can focus on the positive. I wish I had some of that, lol.
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