More than 60 percent of climate subsidies from President Joe Biden's climate law passed last year went to projects involving foreign companies, a Wall Street Journal analysis found.
The Inflation Reduction Act is set to throw more than $1.2 trillion in tax incentives and loans to green energy industries over the next 10 years, according to a Goldman Sachs forecast. The federal government has injected $110 billion in climate subsidies into the economy since the law's passage in August. The Journal reports 15 of the 20 largest investments went to companies based overseas or tied to foreign businesses.
Biden touted the law as a plan to build in the United States "with American companies" and bolster the country’s ability "to compete with China for the future." But $8 billion of the $110 billion in total investment spurred by the law went to companies based in China or with substantial ties to the country, according to the Journal.
The report comes as the Biden administration has taken criticism for how its energy agenda benefits China. The Washington Free Beacon reported in January the Energy Department was funneling $50 million to a lithium battery company that sourced its materials from China. The department was also set to send $200 million to a battery company whose CEO had gone through a Chinese Communist Party program the FBI warned was used for economic espionage. The administration called off the investment in May.
Two projects in Michigan are drawing fire for connections to China. Ford is partnering with Chinese tech company CATL on a $3.5 billion battery factory in southern Michigan. Another Chinese company, Gotion, is seeking to build a $2.4 billion battery-component factory near Grand Rapids. The Gotion plant has faced opposition from local residents for its connections to the Chinese Communist Party.
Other foreign companies, including South Korea and Japan, are investing in projects like battery plants based in the United States. Japanese tech company Panasonic could rake in more than $2 billion in tax credits due to its Nevada and Kansas battery plants.
Some experts project the law could inject $3 trillion in green subsidies into the global economy over the next decade.