Panel sets markup targeting EV credits, cobalt imports

The House Ways and Means Committee will vote on a handful of trade bills Wednesday, including Republican language that would block any electric vehicles containing material from U.S. adversaries like China from securing federal tax credits.

West Virginia Republican Rep. Carol Miller introduced H.R. 7980, or the “End Chinese Dominance of Electric Vehicles in America Act of 2024,” on Monday.

Mille’rs bill would tighten the “foreign entity of concern” definition for EV tax credits tied to the Inflation Reduction Act and bar Chinese companies from accessing the incentives.

Miller in a statement said the bill would close “loopholes” that the Treasury Department included the Inflation Reduction Act and ensure the tax credits are used domestically.

“China, or any adversary for that matter, should not have any access to American tax credits. Narrowing the definition of the Foreign Entity of Concern expands opportunities for American manufacturing while protecting our resources and our people,” Miller said in a statement.

Under the bill, any electric vehicle that contains materials — namely in its battery — mined, processed, recycled, manufactured or assembled in a “prohibited foreign entity” would not be eligible for the 30D tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act.

The committee is also slated to mark up legislation from Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, a senior House Foreign Affairs member, related to critical minerals.

The “Stop China’s Exploitation of Congolese Children and Adult Forced Labor through Cobalt Mining Act,” H.R. 7981, would block the import of cobalt or lithium mined using child or forced labor.

Schedule: The markup is Wednesday, April 17, at 10 a.m. in 1100 Longworth and via webcast.