A September 1 coalition letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asks the department and the IRS to enforce the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s foreign-entity restrictions so Chinese-controlled battery companies cannot claim the Section 45X manufacturing credit or the Section 48E clean electricity credit through U.S. subsidiaries or contracts. It also asks for full recapture and penalties on false certifications, rigorous foreign-entity review of 45X and 48E claims, and public guidance that U.S. incorporation, assembly, or hiring alone does not qualify a company still controlled from China.
The letter argues that Congress wrote these limits so federal incentives would build American manufacturing that does not depend on China, and that the test should be who controls a company’s technology, financing, and decisions, not where it is incorporated. It cites SEMCORP’s plant in Sidney, Ohio, and Green New Energy Materials’ planned North Carolina operation, and warns that Notice 2026-15’s certification safe harbor lets claimants rely on supplier certifications where independent proof is needed. SPPI joined the coalition, led by Consumer Action for a Strong Economy.