Biden: "US Government Vehicles to Be Replaced with American-Made Electric Cars"

Signing of the 'Buy America' Executive Order

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Joe Biden announced plans to replace the federal government's official vehicles with American-made electric cars.

On the 25th (local time), President Biden held a press conference after signing the "Buy America" executive order at the White House, stating, "We will replace the vehicles owned by the federal government with electric cars made in America by American workers."

This declaration means that the U.S. federal government will gradually stop purchasing internal combustion engine vehicles and instead buy domestically produced electric cars. President Biden expects this measure to secure one million jobs in the automotive industry.

According to the U.S. General Services Administration, as of 2019, the federal government owns 650,000 vehicles. Among these, 173,000 are military vehicles, and 225,000 belong to the postal service.

President Biden also stated that the administration will explore providing subsidies or sales incentives to consumers who replace internal combustion engine vehicles with electric cars.

Regarding this announcement, U.S. media reported that although no specific timeline was provided, it is positive news for companies developing electric vehicles such as GM, Ford, and the electric vehicle leader Tesla. However, they also noted that since electric cars are more expensive than internal combustion engine vehicles, more budget will be required, and the completion date of the implementation remains unclear.

President Biden further stated that even when the federal government purchases regular vehicles, those with a higher proportion of American-made parts will be prioritized. Current federal purchasing standards define vehicles with at least 50% American-made parts as American-made.

The "Buy America" executive order signed that day strengthens the criteria defining American-made products within six months, mandating federal agencies to purchase more goods and services from American companies and workers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.