North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) defended auto workers at the Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday evening, saying they are on strike against President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle (EV) mandates.
“We’re missing the point, and every other network is missing the point,” Burgum said as several GOP candidates seemingly went after members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) for striking against General Motors (GM), Ford, and Stellantis:
The reason why people are striking in Detroit is because of Joe Biden’s interference with capital markets and free markets. The subsidies — we’re subsidizing the automakers and we’re subsidizing the cars, and a particular kind of car, not every car. We’re particularly — we’re subsidizing electric vehicles. And when you decide that we’re going to take all of your taxpayer monies, take a billion dollars, subsidize a certain type of vehicle, and the batteries come from China. [Emphasis added]
China controls 85 percent of the rare-earth minerals. They’re called rare-earth because they are measured in parts per million. China is moving 100,000 pounds of earth in Indonesia, in Africa, they’re literally destroying the planet so that we can make them make a battery that’s in a car subsidized here. That’s why they’re striking – because they need two-thirds less [sic] workers to make an electric car. This strike is at Joe Biden’s feet. [Emphasis added]
Indeed, as Breitbart News has chronicled, Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is showering automakers with a massive windfall via tax credits for EVs made in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
At the same time, a publicly funded transition from combustion engines to EVs could potentially eliminate millions of American auto jobs altogether.
RELATED — UAW Member: I Won’t Vote for Biden Again; EV Subsidies Are Being Used Against Workers
Meanwhile, China dominates the EV supply chain — a fact that will almost certainly ensure that EVs sold in the U.S. market will be, in one way or another, produced or sourced in China.
Currently, China controls critical components needed for EV batteries, including nearly 70 percent of the world’s lithium, 95 percent of manganese, 73 percent of cobalt, 70 percent of graphite, and 63 percent of nickel.
China also controls the parts needed to go into an EV battery.
About 77 percent of cathodes are made in China, along with 74 percent of separators, 82 percent of electrolytes, 92 percent of anodes, 73 percent of NMC cathodes, and 99 percent of LFP cathodes.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
