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Manchin Introduces Bill on EV Tax Credit Rules

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., introduced a bill that would stop electric vehicle tax credits for buyers until the Treasury Department issues guidance on battery and critical mineral content. The tax credits are currently available for North-America-assembled vehicles, no matter the content of their batteries, as Treasury said it needed more time to write guidance for those aspects of the law.

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Manchin said in a Jan. 25 press release that the American Vehicle Security Act would make sure that the law was implemented according to congressional intent. He said, "It is unacceptable that the U.S. Treasury has failed to issue updated guidance for the 30D electric vehicle tax credits and continues to make the full $7,500 credits available without meeting all of the clear requirements included in the Inflation Reduction Act. The Treasury Department failed to meet the statutory deadline of December 31, 2022, to release guidance for the 30D credit and have created an opportunity to circumvent stringent supply chain requirements included in the IRA.

"The IRA is first-and-foremost an energy security bill, and the EV tax credits were designed to grow domestic manufacturing and reduce our reliance on foreign supply chains for the critical minerals needed to produce EV batteries. The United States is the birthplace of Henry Ford who revolutionized the automotive industry with the Model T. Being an automotive powerhouse is in our blood, which is why it is shameful that we rely so heavily on foreign suppliers, particularly China, for the batteries that power our electric vehicles. We cannot continue down this path."