U.S. Acknowledges It Can’t Cut China Out of the EV Battery Supply Chain

A Ford worker in the United States assembles a new electric powered F-150 Lightening pick-up truck that is powered by a bettery with that uses Chinese-processed minerals and metals. JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP

For much of the past year, since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022, U.S. officials have spoken at length about the urgent need to remove China from the critical minerals supply chain used, among other things, to manufacture electric vehicle batteries.

In fact, there are several provisions in the IRA that penalize automakers from using EV batteries that include resources that were either mined or refined by Chinese companies.

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