Nobody saw that coming, right?
of inflation control lawThe bill, also known as the Democratic Party's Green New Deal, which Mr. Assuming this law is designed to support the U.S. industrial base for the new post-fossil fuel economy that the Biden administration and Democrats aspire to build, it is noteworthy that companies here Of all the countries that have announced new investments in the IRA to benefit from tax relief, China is in the lead.
This is most noticeable in the case of solar power.
U.S. companies like Ohio's First Solar are expanding their operations thanks to IRAs. But Chinese solar power giants Trina, JA Solar, Longi, and Canadian Solar (which is probably not Canadian except for its offices in Ontario) also have investments in Arizona, Texas, and Ohio. This is equivalent to four solar power companies in China to one.
Chinese companies could benefit Up to $125 billion The amount of U.S. funding for plans to expand control of that industry. This is on top of the funding already provided by the Chinese government. (Related: Gordon Chan: Xi Jinping is killing our children)
Originally, the idea was to give American companies a chance to become solar producers again. Instead, the IRA treats foreigners no different from domestics. If a company is blacklisted or sanctioned by the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, or State, it would be excluded from IRA grants as a “foreign company of concern.” But this doesn't apply to every company. Congress rejected demands to exclude Chinese companies from these subsidies. They think the Earth will melt within her 12 years, so they need all the help they can get.
Still, during the Senate Energy Committee hearing On January 11, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) said China should not receive all of these production benefits. He had a terrible awakening. Manchin complained about EV batteries and the minerals they contain. Two Chinese EV battery manufacturers – Gotion High Tech (with offices in Silicon Valley) and his Contemporary Amperex Technology, best known as CATL Portfolio companies Chinese private equity firm BHR Partners Hunter Biden once worked, both have plans build a factory I'm here because of the IRA. CATL is already best battery for ford. tesla It also uses CATL.
Mr. Li Zhen, Chairman of Gotion, said: Said At a Bloomberg conference in Singapore in November, he said he was “very confident” that Gaushon would not be locked out of the IRA funds. part of the senate Just like Marco Rubio is trying to do now.
Everyone knows Virginia Governor Glenn. Yonkin banned CATL Because of its ties to the Chinese Communist Party, they could not set up shop there. The problem is that all major companies in China have ties to the Chinese Communist Party. It's like saying Raytheon has ties to the Department of Defense. Clearly, “links with the Chinese Communist Party” are not the basis for restrictions on the IRA.
So Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is right. “We're subsidizing our competitors,” he told IRA officials from the Treasury Department and the Department of Energy at a hearing.
IRAs have enabled billions of dollars to be invested in the United States by domestic and foreign companies. That's true. However, the country other than the United States that benefits most from the IRA is China. That's also true.
Chinese companies in solar power, wind power, and EV batteries continue to dominate this market, and anti-inflation laws are helping to maintain that position. Perhaps no one wanted this to happen, but the profits China makes from the IRA could ultimately damage the law.
Kenneth Rapoza covered Brazil for the Wall Street Journal in the early 2000s and then wrote about BRICS for Forbes from 2011 to 2023. He is an industry analyst for the Alliance for Prosperity.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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