Trump Transition Team Unveils Plans to Rewrite Biden’s EV Strategy and Curb China’s Battery Dominance

The Trump transition team has outlined bold plans to unravel Biden’s EV strategy, introducing China-focused tariffs and slashing subsidies to boost U.S. production and protect national security.

Trump Transition Team Proposes Sweeping Changes to Biden’s EV Policies

Reuters has obtained a document that states the transition team for incoming US President Donald Trump has proposed extensive measures to ban Chinese-made automobiles, parts, and battery materials, as well as to eliminate subsidies for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.

While the electric-vehicle transition in the United States hits a wall, the heavily subsidized EV industry in China is surging, thanks in part to its better battery supply chain, and these proposals, which have not been reported before, are timely. While campaigning, Trump promised to repeal President Joe Biden's electric vehicle mandate and loosen restrictions on vehicles powered by fossil fuels.

In an effort to increase American production, the transition team suggests implementing tariffs on all battery materials worldwide. The memo reveals that they will then negotiate specific exclusions with friends.

China’s EV Dominance Sparks U.S. Policy Shift

All things considered, the suggestions represent a significant change from the policies of the Biden administration, which attempted to strike a compromise between promoting a domestic battery supply chain that was distinct from China and a quick transition to electric vehicles.

Moving funds away from constructing charging stations and lowering the price of electric vehicles and toward national-defense priorities, such as ensuring a supply of batteries and other minerals that are not sourced from China, is a key component of the transition-team plan.

The recommendations originated from a Trump transition team tasked with formulating a plan for the rapid adoption of new car regulations. The group has also proposed doing away with the $7,500 tax credit that the Biden administration offered to consumers who bought electric vehicles; this proposal was originally reported by Reuters last month.

Potential Impact on U.S. Automakers and EV Sales

Even while several long-standing automakers, such as Hyundai and General Motors, have just brought a broader range of electric vehicles to the American market, the rules may deal a fatal blow to EV sales and production in the country.

Tuesday, senior adviser Jason Miller to the Trump transition, criticized the suggestions, calling them coming from "outsiders who have no role in charting administration policy."

Elon Musk's Tesla, the leading U.S. EV vendor, may see sales decline if the government were to reduce its support for electric vehicles. However, Musk, who contributed over $250,000 to Trump's campaign, has stated that Tesla's competitors will be more negatively affected by the loss of subsidies.

Redirection of EV Infrastructure Funds

Biden proposed a $7.5 billion proposal to construct charging stations, but the transition team wants all of that money redirected to manufacturing battery materials and the "national defense supply chain and critical infrastructure."

Aside from minerals, batteries, and other EV components, electric vehicles "and charging stations are not" considered "critical to defense production," according to the document.

In view of China's hegemony in the mining and refining of vital minerals—graphite, lithium, and rare-earth metals—used in batteries, electric vehicle motors, and military aircraft—the U.S. Department of Defense has recently brought attention to U.S. strategic vulnerabilities in this area.

The United States military is confronted with "escalating power requirements" for a variety of technology, including weaponry and communication devices, according to a government assessment from 2021. U.S. national security is "critical" to having "assured sources of critical minerals and materials," according to the research.

Campaign Promises Drive Policy Recommendations

The people have given Trump their authority to fulfill his campaign pledges, according to Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump transition. One of those promises is to end the government's attacks on gas-powered cars.

"When he takes office, President Trump will support the auto industry, allowing space for both gas-powered cars and electric vehicles," Leavitt stated in a press release.

The worldwide trend toward electric vehicles has been driven in part by the need for automakers to meet more stringent government regulations aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

However, by reversing the Biden administration's support for fuel economy and emissions requirements, the transition team's proposals would enable carmakers to manufacture more gas-powered automobiles, Investing.com shares. In order to allow for around 25% more emissions per vehicle mile than the present 2025 limitations and about 15% worse average fuel economy, the transition team suggests reverting those rules to 2019 levels.

California Emissions Standards Face Federal Opposition

More than a dozen other states have already established more stringent vehicle-emissions requirements; the plan also suggests preventing California from doing the same. During his first term in office, Trump blocked California from enacting stricter regulations, a move that Biden later undid.

All vehicles in California will be required to be electric, plug-in hybrid, or hydrogen-powered by 2035, and the state has petitioned the EPA for a second waiver to implement stricter regulations starting in 2026. San Diego's request has been denied by the EPA, which is part of the Biden administration.

It would appear that a large number of the transition team's recommendations are focused on boosting local battery production, mostly for defense-related reasons. It seems like there are others that are trying to shield American car companies, including those that build electric vehicles.

Here are the suggestions:

• Imports of certain minerals, batteries, and charging components—all part of the "EV supply chain"—would be subject to levies. The Reuters-viewed proposal suggested that the government restrict imports of these items by implementing Section 232 tariffs, which aim to protect the nation's security.
  The Trump-transition memo included a number of Chinese imports that were subject to tariff increases by the Biden administration. These included graphite, lithium-ion batteries, and "permanent magnets" utilized in electric vehicle motors and military uses. Reasons unrelated to national security were used to justify the imposition of those levies.
  
• Eliminating the need for environmental assessments in order to hasten "federally funded EV infrastructure projects," such as the reclamation and manufacture of batteries, the installation of charging stations, and the production of essential minerals.
  
• Tightening up on the export of electric vehicle battery technology to countries that are hostile to us.
  
• Letting the United States Export-Import Bank facilitate the export of American-made electric vehicle batteries.
  
• The practice of employing tariffs as a "negotiating tool" to increase access to international markets for U.S. auto exports, particularly electric vehicles.
  
• Ruling out the need for government entities to acquire electric vehicles. By the end of 2027, all federal purchases of cars and smaller trucks must be zero-emission vehicles, according to a Biden directive.
  
• Putting an end to Department of Defense (DOD) initiatives to acquire or develop electric military vehicles.