WASHINGTON — The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) today applauded a letter from U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging the Biden administration to reject industry attempts to relax Made in America rules for electric vehicle tax credits. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022’s (IRA) ‘s tax credits for Clean Vehicles (section 30D) are more strict than similar tax credits for Commercial Vehicles (Section 45W). Manchin asked the Treasury Department to ensure that the domestic sourcing rules in the IRA that are drafted to reshore American manufacturing, instead of creating a huge loophole that will allow foreign automakers to benefit.
Automakers and foreign governments are currently lobbying the Treasury Department to use a broad interpretation of the lenient content requirements for Commercial Vehicles to allow a full $7,500 tax credit for rental cars, leased vehicles, and rideshare vehicles (such as those used for Uber and Lyft). Doing so would bypass the necessary and strict sourcing requirements in the 30D Clean Vehicle Credit. If the administration allows this overly broad definition to be implemented, it would severely undermine the legislation’s intent by incentivizing auto companies to invest in a regulatory loophole instead of moving production back to the United States.
“Once again, multinational corporations and their army of globalist lobbyists are seeking to undermine provisions of U.S. law originally intended to benefit American manufacturers and workers,” said CPA Chairman Zach Mottl. “Senator Manchin is exactly right—and CPA, along with our members who are committed to making things in this country, are proud to stand with him. Secretary Yellen and the Biden administration should reject this attempt to blatantly rewrite U.S. law, and instead stand with American workers by implementing the Inflation Reduction Act as originally intended.”
Read the full letter from Senator Manchin here.
