US: Biden's infrastructure bill provides $7,500 tax credit to buyers of electric vehicles

With their much-vaunted Infrastructure Bill, US President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats are looking to give American automakers and trade unionists the inside track on the electric vehicle market. According to a report by Associated Press, once implemented, the bill would provide a $7,500 tax credit to customers who buy electric vehicles through 2026. While the provision is being hailed by climate activists as it would cut down fossil fuel consumption in the country, Republicans and foreign traders have opposed the bill saying that manufacturers in their home states would be put at a competitive disadvantage.The US$1.3 trillion bill spending particularly focuses on expediting America’s shift to electric vehicles. For this purpose, the bill provides a $7,500 tax credit to anybody who buys US-made electric vehicles starting 2022 till 2026. The base credit goes up by $4,500 if the vehicle is mad

e at a U.S. plant that operates under a union-negotiated collective bargaining agreement. Under this provision, only three auto-mobile plants- General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV qualify, as per AP.

Biden has blatantly shown his interest in electric vehicles. Earlier this August, the White House held an ambitious meeting of electric vehicle makers but sans the country’s largest EV manufacturer- Tesla. The rendezvous hosted by President Joe Biden witnessed the presence of executives and officials from General Motors(GM) and Ford (F) as well as Stellantis, the company formed by a merger between Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA.

What is the infrastructure bill?

 As per a fact sheet provided by the White House, "This Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails, expand access to clean drinking water, ensure every American has access to high-speed internet, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and invest in communities that have too often been left behind. The legislation will help ease inflationary pressures and strengthen supply chains by making long-overdue improvements for our nation’s ports, airports, rail, and roads. It will drive the creation of good-paying union jobs and grow the economy sustainably and equitably so that everyone gets ahead for decades to come. Combined with the President’s Build Back Framework, it will add on average 1.5 million jobs per year for the next 10 years".   

(With inputs from AP)

(Image: AP )