Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) — The European Union and South Korea have expressed concern about a proposed U.S. tax credit program for electric vehicle purchases, saying it “discriminates” against foreign-made vehicles and violates World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
The U.S. Senate passed the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act last week, announcing that it would remove the $7,500 cap on the electric vehicle tax credit, but also impose restrictions requiring battery components and key minerals to be sourced from North America.
“We believe it is discriminatory, it discriminates against foreign producers relative to U.S. producers, and it is not WTO compliant,” said a European Commission spokeswoman.
She added: “We need to ensure that the measures introduced are fair and non-discriminatory. We therefore continue to urge the United States to remove these discriminatory elements from the bill and to ensure that it is fully WTO compliant.”
South Korea’s trade ministry issued a statement saying it has asked U.S. trade authorities to relax battery components and vehicle assembly requirements. Hyundai Motor Co. and battery makers LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK held a joint meeting in which the aforementioned Korean companies asked for support from South Korean authorities so that the bill would not put them at a competitive disadvantage in the U.S. market.
The Korean side has sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives requesting that the U.S. include electric vehicles and battery components manufactured or assembled in Korea in the scope of the U.S. tax credit.
Hyundai Motor, South Korea
Hyundai, for its part, is quite disappointed, criticizing the current legislation as severely limiting the use and choice of electric vehicles for Americans and potentially significantly preventing the automotive industry from transitioning to a sustainable direction.
The plan has sparked discontent not only in the European Union and South Korea, but also discussions within the United States. Some automakers said last week that most electric models would not be eligible for tax credits because of the requirement that battery components and key minerals be sourced from North America.
