Donald Trump Failed America’s Auto Workers
October 6, 2023
Donald Trump’s legacy for auto workers is a track record of trickle-down tax cuts, closed factories, and jobs outsourced to China. If Donald Trump had his way, the United States would be ceding the jobs of the future to China. Instead, President Biden has created a manufacturing boom and is bringing back good-paying jobs for the American people.
Trump ceded the EV future to China while slowing the progress of the American electric vehicle industry.
Vox: “On one side of that battle: the Trump administration, a few US automakers, and Koch Industries, who would like to stymie or at least delay the electrification of vehicles and continue the use of fossil fuels.”
Politico: “The Trump administration is already trying to roll back strict fuel-efficiency rules that have helped encourage automakers to produce electric cars. Now the president, angry at General Motors for closing U.S. plants, is vowing to eliminate tax credits that have helped encourage consumers to buy electric cars.”
Wired: “In the Age of Trump, China Eyes Electric Car Dominance: Now that the Trump Administration is working to shred those environmentally-focused rules, the auto industry seems to be swinging its attention east.”
Trump broke his promise to bring manufacturing back to America, as factories closed and jobs were outsourced to China.
Reuters: “Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency four years ago, in part, by a promise to Midwest factory workers that he would stop companies like Schneider Electric SE from moving jobs out of the country. He didn’t stop them.”
Bloomberg: “The Offshoring of U.S. Jobs Increased on Trump’s Watch”
Washington Post: “Trump promised ‘America First’ would keep jobs here. But the tax plan might push them overseas.”
Thanks to President Biden, America is now laying the groundwork for EVs to be built right here at home while moving supply chains away from China.
CNN: “The IRA was specifically written to move the manufacturing supply chain for clean energy technology like solar panels and EV batteries away from China and to the United States.”
CNN: “The $430 billion IRA imposes restrictions on battery sourcing and is designed to wean the United States off the Chinese supply chain for electric vehicles (EVs). The IRA will eventually bar credits if any EV battery components were manufactured by a ‘foreign entity of concern,’ in a provision aimed at China.”
CNBC: “As of Aug. 17, for example, final assembly of the car had to take place in North America.”
Under President Biden, we are seeing a manufacturing boom across the country – including more new private sector investments in America’s electric vehicle and EV battery manufacturing than any other country including China.
Atlas Public Policy: “Vehicle manufacturers and battery makers plan to invest $860 billion globally by 2030 in the transition to EVs. Nearly a quarter, $210 billion, is expected to be invested in the United States, more than in any other country.”
Department of Energy: “Vehicle Battery Manufacturing Capacity in North America in 2030 is Projected to be Nearly 20 Times Greater than in 2021”
Axios: “A manufacturing boom has swept across the country in President Biden’s 2½ years in office, with the South and Mountain West — including several red states — having especially strong growth, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. […] The U.S. economy has added some 800,000 manufacturing jobs nationwide, a figure Biden hopes will boost his claim to have delivered on his promise to be a president — and create jobs — for all Americans.”
Bloomberg: “Since August of 2022, when President Joe Biden signed the law, BloombergNEF has tracked $72 billion of announcements by automakers, battery manufacturers, and other stakeholders in the electric vehicle supply chain. That includes nearly $55 billion for battery-related projects.”
President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act is investing in American EV manufacturing and making it affordable for Americans to purchase electric vehicles.
CNBC: “The bill extends and tweaks an existing tax credit — worth up to $7,500 — to individuals who buy new ‘clean’ vehicles like electric cars, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.”
Atlas Public Policy: “The recent passage by the federal government of the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides unprecedented levels of support for EVs, including at least $83 billion of loans, grants, and tax credits that could support the production of low or zero-emission vehicles, batteries, or chargers.”
Trump wants to end tax credits for electric vehicles even though the EV industry has created thousands of jobs across the country.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “In his 90-minute speech, Trump said he would end federal tax credits and domestic manufacturing incentives for EVs at the center of President Joe Biden’s signature climate and health bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act.”