Trump’s plan to repeal EV tax credit could hurt U.S. auto market

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to at least partially repeal the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and some analysts say it could end up helping China more than the United States.

“If you take away the incentives for people to buy the stuff that American manufacturers are making, that weakens the case for investing in American manufacturing,” said Canary Media’s Jeff St. John, who wrote about how killing the EV tax credit could impact an electrified future for the U.S.

St. John said the tax credit is a major incentive for car buyers, while also incentivizing automakers and battery manufacturers.

“Those investments are making a difference in the lives and jobs and economic development to move forward,” he said. “Those are all things that are tied up with the $7,500 per EV tax credit and it's a little bit hard to know what will happen if we untangle that.”

To hear the full conversation with St. John and MPR meteorologist Paul Huttner, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.