Manchin and other proponents have argued the provisions were necessary to create jobs in the U.S. and make the country more self-sufficient.
“Our goal here is to make sure we are building a sustainable market here in the U.S. for electric vehicles,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told reporters earlier this month.
Reinforcing that stance, Manchin’s spokesperson, Sam Runyon, said the law “includes tough but achievable requirements that will increase energy and national security while also creating more jobs here at home.”
Korean trade ministers have also been pressing their case for more lenient provisions or an extended timeline to meet requirements, according to Thomas Byrne, president of the Korea Society, a non-profit that works to help foster US-Korean relations.
Hyundai’s Executive Chairman Euisun Chung, who is also the grandson of the founder, is going to Savannah, Ga., for the EV plant’s groundbreaking later this month, as is White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi, according to the person familiar with the matter, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the plans publicly.
Given the scope of the bill and the quick timeline in which it was passed, Congress will probably have to pass another measure addressing drafting errors and other problems that crop up, said Alex Muresianu, a policy analyst at the right-leaning Tax Foundation. That could take several years.
“There’s only so much that Treasury can do to remedy these problems,” Muresianu said.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., facing a close re-election race, proposed legislation to delay some requirements. But it’s unlikely to pass without the support of Manchin, among others.
Despite the challenges, Hyundai still sees some wiggle room, Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, told reporters earlier this month.
“There’s other solutions we’re looking at, other provisions within the act, in the IRA bill itself that give us an opportunity to continue to sell EVs,” Parker said. “We’re gonna land in a really good place.”
