Former US President Donald Trump says if he wins the election in November, he plans to end electric vehicle (EV) incentives in the US.
“I will immediately end the EV subsidy,” he said at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he’s accepting the nomination of his party for President.
That’s despite the former President recently receiving the endorsement of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose company exclusively produces EVs.
EVs are eligible for federal tax credits of up to US$7500 (A$11,191) presently, though under incumbent President Joe Biden’s administration, stricter requirements around vehicle and battery sourcing have been introduced.
President Biden also announced a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese EVs in May.
Former President Trump also criticised the United Auto Workers (UAW) union for “letting” carmakers build factories in Mexico.
“Large factories are being built across the border in Mexico, so with all the other things happening over our border. They are being built by China with no tax or anything,” he said.
“The United Auto Workers should be ashamed of letting this happen. The chief [Shawn Fain] should be fired immediately. We are going to bring back car manufacturing and we are going to bring it back fast.
“[The Chinese] are building some of the largest auto plants in the world. Those plants are going to be built in the US and we are going to man those plants. If they don’t agree with us we will put a tariff of approximately 100-200 per cent on each car and they will be unsellable in the US.
“We have long been taken advantage of by other counties. They are taking advantage of us. They wipe out our business and wipe out our people. I stopped it for four years, we are ready to make changes.”
There’s only a handful of Chinese-built vehicles sold in the US, including the Buick Envision from General Motors and the Lincoln Nautilus from Ford.
No Chinese brands currently sell cars in the US market, unless you count Chinese-owned brands like Lotus, Polestar and Volvo which are all part of Geely.
The US recently raised the tariff on certain Chinese imports including EVs from 25 to 100 per cent, not including the existing 2.5 per cent duty tax on all vehicles imported to the US.
Former President Trump is vying to beat incumbent President Joe Biden in this year’s election, which will be held on Tuesday, November 5.
