The writer is an FT contributing editor and executive director of American Compass Having exhausted all other options, US policymakers are finally doing the right thing for domestic manufacturing: embracing industrial policy to channel capital towards expanding the nation’s productive capacity.
The production of combustion engine vehicles is among the sector’s most significant segments. Yet the IRA succeeds only to the extent that the US abandons its energy advantage and relies upon lower-productivity solar and battery technologies and foreign supply chains. The irreconcilable tension has come to a head with the United Auto Workers strike against Detroit’s Big Three carmakers, in which the transition to electric vehicles is a central concern.