US President Biden and EU Commission President von der Leyen appear to have reached a basic agreement on the treatment of the Internal Revenue Code (Section 30D) under the Inflation-Reduction Act (IRA) and other issues at their meeting in Washington, US, on 10 March.

Section 30D is a provision relating to tax credits for the purchase of small EVs in the US, but in order for the full amount of the tax credit to be applied, conditions must be met, such as ‘the finished vehicle is assembled in North America and the critical minerals and components in the battery comply with the rules of origin’.

VW had indicated that it would review its plans to build a gigafactory in Europe because of the IRA, As for the IRA, we are also interested in the actions of our own Prime Minister, Mr Kishida. We will have to wait for the US Internal Revenue Service (IRA) to issue battery requirements guidance to see how Section 30D will ultimately be treated, but we will report as soon as it is issued, so please check back in future editions of the Global Legal Policy Monthly for details!

The rapid EV shift is escalating resource nationalism to enclose battery metal, and the March 2023 issue of the World Vehicle Law Policy Monthly features Indonesia’s policy to develop its EV battery industry. Indonesia is known for its abundance of nickel and other battery metals, but how will it cut this powerful card?
We report on Europe’s proposed heavy-duty vehicle CO2 regulations and the proposed new crediting system for renewable fuel regulations in the US.