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[text/ruan jiaqi, observer network]

according to reuters and the associated press on the 5th, on thursday local time, in republican-dominated north carolina, u.s. treasury secretary yellen warned in a speech at a technical community school that any attempt to cut the biden administration's clean energy tax credit policy would increase the cost of living for families and jeopardize new u.s. manufacturing investments that are creating jobs.

as the "standard answer" of american politicians, it is natural to blame china. at the end of her speech, yellen warned that canceling this policy might allow china and other countries that are investing heavily in key industries such as clean energy to gain an advantage.

according to the speech released on the official website of the u.s. treasury department, yellen told residents of north carolina that the state is benefiting from the inflation reduction act signed by the biden administration in 2022. the latest data from the u.s. treasury department show that a total of 90,000 households in north carolina have applied for more than $100 million in residential clean energy credits and more than $60 million in energy efficiency credits, so canceling these policies would be a "historic mistake."

“eliminating these tax credits could raise the cost of living for working families at a time when we must continue to take action to lower prices,” she claimed. “moreover, it could jeopardize the significant investment in manufacturing we’ve seen here and across the country, and the jobs that come with it, many of which don’t require a college degree. and it could give a leg up to china and other countries that are also competing for investment in these critical industries.”

it is worth mentioning that just as yellen was boasting that north carolina benefited from the bill and built the first lithium hydroxide production facility in north america in more than a decade last fall, increasing the united states' ability to produce key raw materials for electric vehicle batteries by 50%, reuters discovered that she participated in a school test drive event that day and drove a ford mustang electric car, but the battery of this car was not eligible for the bill's tax credit policy because it "contained chinese components."

at the end of last year, the united states further expanded the scope of the bill, with new regulations requiring that vehicles containing any battery components manufactured or assembled by foreign sensitive entities will lose eligibility for tax credits starting in 2024. by 2025, this provision will also be extended to key minerals required for battery manufacturing, such as lithium, cobalt and nickel.

reuters said that although yellen did not name anyone who asked for the cancellation of the relevant policy in her speech, she was targeting republican presidential candidate trump.

trump recently declared that if he returns to the white house, he will stop the "green new scam" and repeal many of biden's clean energy regulations, including ending hundreds of billions of dollars in tax subsidies enacted by the inflation reduction act and diverting funds to road and bridge construction.

the associated press pointed out that as democratic candidate harris's support rate has increased in the latest polls, north carolina has become a key battleground between trump and harris in the fight for the presidency. this state, which trump won by a narrow margin in the 2020 election, is showing a trend of being overturned by the democrats.

yellen's speech that day not only continued to support biden's inflation reduction bill, but also the main theme of her speech was consistent with harris' campaign call for lowering the cost of living for american families. in the past, when yellen praised the role of the bill, she often emphasized its benefits to economic growth and job creation.

according to the hill, while the trump campaign focused its attack on the inflation reduction bill, some republican lawmakers have turned against it in recent weeks and expressed concerns about repealing the bill.

in early august, a group of 18 house republicans sent a letter to speaker mike johnson, warning him not to target the tax credit portion of the bill if the gop wants to maintain or expand its majority in the lower chamber next year.

in the letter, they claimed that repealing the tax credit could undermine growth in the energy industry because some companies have already started investing, which would damage private investment and halt the development of projects already underway. "repealing the credit would result in the worst-case scenario, where we spend billions of taxpayer dollars and lose them all."

the letter added that the house should reverse policies that harm american families while protecting and improving those that make the united states more energy independent and secure.

the letter was also criticized by some republicans, who angrily denounced the signatories as "k street lobbyists." k street is located between capitol hill and the white house and is a street that brings together a large number of think tanks, lobbying groups, and public relations companies. in political discourse, k street has become synonymous with the u.s. lobbying industry, just as wall street represents the u.s. financial market.

what's even more interesting is that yellen played the "china card" and claimed that canceling the tax credit would benefit china; while the associated press found that the republicans opposed the bill and also used china as an excuse. they claimed that the bill's spending was a waste and was beneficial to china. good guy, the two mouths opened and closed, and china got a "win-win" situation so beautifully.

on july 15, a spokesperson for china's ministry of commerce said that on march 26, china brought the u.s. inflation reduction act's measures on subsidies for new energy vehicles to the wto dispute settlement mechanism. as the u.s. failed to reach a solution through consultations with china, china has requested the wto to set up an expert group.

the spokesperson said that the u.s. inflation reduction act uses products from specific regions such as the united states as a precondition for subsidies, excludes products from wto members such as china, artificially sets up trade barriers, and pushes up the cost of green energy transformation. no matter how it is packaged and beautified, it cannot change the nature of the subsidies involved in the case, which are discriminatory, protectionist, and violate wto rules. china is determined to advance the litigation process, which is a practical action to safeguard the authority and effectiveness of the multilateral trading system with the wto at its core, and to safeguard the joint efforts of the international community to address climate change.

china agrees that wto members should implement industrial subsidies in a manner consistent with wto rules, support green energy transformation, and promote economic and social development. we once again urge the us to abide by wto rules and stop abusing industrial policies to undermine international cooperation on climate change.

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