Biden's flagship climate bill created several subsidies to facilitate America's transition to a green energy economy, including tax credits of $7,500 for electric vehicles, $1,000 for electric vehicle chargers, and 30 percent of the cost of installing solar panels. But China has a stranglehold on the global supply of rare earth materials needed to produce those technologies, and trade data show that imports of Chinese electric vehicle components have exploded since Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law.

American imports of Chinese lithium-ion batteries—a critical component in electric vehicles—have increased over 500 percent since Biden took office, Census Bureau data show. In 2020, the year before Biden took office, the United States imported just $2 billion worth of lithium-ion batteries from China. In 2023, imports of Chinese lithium-ion batteries jumped to over $13 billion.

The import increase was especially pronounced after Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act. From January 2021 through July 2022, before Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, lithium-ion battery imports from China averaged $473 million per month. After the law was signed, imports averaged over $1 billion per month.