Washington, Feb 9: The United States will beat China in making electric vehicles (EVs) as the country grows its battery production and works on bringing home manufacturing that was offshored since the 1990s, President Joe Biden said.
Speaking after Australian electric vehicle charging company Tritium unveiled plans to manufacture in Tennessee, Biden said the plant will help ensure that America leads the world in electric vehicles.
He added: China has been leading the race up to now, but this is about to change because of America’s convenient, reliable and equitable national public charging networks. So wherever you live, charging your electric vehicle will be quick and easy, and this foundation will help American automakers set the pace to lead.
The Biden administration is working to add 500,000 charging stations for EVs across the United States under a $15 billion plan.
The president said manufacturing was booming again after the 1990s drive to offshore US factories to China that left services to dominate the economy.
As an example of the country’s renewed manufacturing prowess, Biden cited the recent announcement by the Union Pacific Railroad in Pittsburgh that it had bought US-made batteries to power its locomotives.
We’re seeing the beginning of American manufacturing come back, Biden said. This is not hyperbole. This is real. This is genuine. The world’s at an inflection point. Things are going to change in big ways. This is one of those transition moments.
The decline of US manufacturing has been difficult to fix despite encouraging tax breaks. Industry officials say the country’s costly labor is one major impediment despite the United States enjoying significantly lower electricity costs than China.
Another problem, industry experts say, is a lack of financing appetite for high-end manufacturing. Small and medium-size US companies struggle to borrow the billions of dollars necessary to finance a new factory, especially if those loans take 10 or 20 years to pay out.
(UNI)
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