ICYMI: In New Op-Ed, Max Miller Challenges Chinese EV Battery Dominance to Secure America’s Manufacturing Future

WASHINGTON, D.C. –In Case You Missed It: U.S. Congressman Max Miller (OH-07), published an op-ed in Crain’s Cleveland Business on Chinese EV battery dominance.  

Read the entire piece here and below: 

The United States tax code should support American manufacturing and American workers – not enrich companies controlled by our adversaries. We should not be dependent on China for essential components used in high-tech battery manufacturing. 

I recently visited a site near the old GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio, which is now occupied by Ultium Cells, a joint venture between LG Energy Solutions and General Motors designed to onshore U.S. battery manufacturing.  

The good news is that UAW Local 1112 just signed a historic labor agreement with Ultium Cells and the plant is providing much-needed manufacturing jobs and high-tech workforce development opportunities in our region. 

The bad news is that this business opportunity is at risk because the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark legislation of the Biden administration, allows battery makers controlled by China to take advantage of tax credits if they have a presence in the U.S. Thus, Chinese battery makers get subsidized by both China and the U.S. taxpayer, creating an unfair advantage and eventually putting U.S. companies at risk of going out of business. 

China is at the center of global supply chains for a wide range of technology sectors, including semiconductors, critical minerals, and solar panels.  

China controls over 38% of global EV battery manufacturing capacity and, in 2023, dominated EV battery production with over 80 % of global production. This is not only a threat to American workers but a national security risk. 

If China’s threatening behavior on the world stage worsens, the Chinese Communist Party could restrict battery exports to the United States and our allies, crushing the American high-tech battery industry and threatening the revitalization of American manufacturing. Reducing the reliance on supply chains controlled by our adversaries is necessary and urgent. 

Make no mistake, China is America’s adversary; we should not be dependent on China for essential components of American industries. 

After my visit to Lordstown, it is clear that the Inflation Reduction Act’s 45x Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit is being used to give Chinese companies an unfair advantage over American workers. For decades, we have lamented the decline of U.S. manufacturing, particularly in high-tech industries.  

If we are serious about protecting and promoting American manufacturing, our tax code should support American manufacturing and American workers – not enrich companies controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. The growth of high-tech industries has the potential to create thousands of jobs in manufacturing, R&D, and related sectors but we must not allow American manufacturers to be left behind. 

The people of Lordstown have been through it all. They’ve seen industry, they’ve seen revitalization, and they are now starting to see the possibility of advanced manufacturing, but this administration continues to look at the issue with one eye closed. 

The high-tech manufacturing sector presents an opportunity to re-shore manufacturing and regain lost ground to restore American dominance.  

Our tax laws should not subsidize Chinese companies to the detriment of American companies and those of our allies. The United States can protect its economic interests, safeguard its national security, and ensure that the future of high-tech manufacturing benefits both American workers and consumers. It would be unacceptable to fall behind in a key technological sector of the future. 

U.S. Rep. Max Miller (R) represents Ohio’s Seventh District which includes Medina and Wayne counties as well as parts of Cuyahoga and Holmes counties. Miller, elected in 2022, serves on the House Agriculture Committee and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for which he also is chairman of the Environment Subcommittee. 

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