At the Charging Ahead in Uncertain Times studio salon, hosted April 8, 2025 by the GW Alliance for a Sustainable Future in collaboration with the GW Environmental and Energy Law program, researchers from the George Washington University and experts in policy and industry warned during the America’s China Challenge panel that the United States risks losing its competitive edge in the electric vehicle (EV) sector unless we rethink our approach to China and global supply chains.
JP Helveston, an assistant professor in engineering management and systems engineering at the George Washington University, highlighted China’s rapid EV adoption, noting that nearly half of all new cars sold there are electric, compared to just 10% in the U.S. Helveston emphasized that Chinese EVs are more affordable and increasingly dominate the global market, with brands like BYD and Nio outpacing multinational competitors.
“China is producing not just good quality cars but also a lot less expensive vehicles. And that puts our auto industry in a tight spot where we're going to have a hard time selling here at home, but potentially even harder time selling abroad if we can't compete,” said Helveston.
Nick Nigro, founder of Atlas Public Policy, pointed to the Inflation Reduction Act and infrastructure investments as catalysts for a U.S. manufacturing resurgence. He cautioned that recent tariffs and political uncertainty could derail progress, potentially leaving the U.S. dependent on foreign EV imports.
“If you look at a graph of investments in construction for manufacturing in the United States right around the time of the infrastructure law being enacted, there was a huge upswing,” Nigro said.
“This is a once in a generation moment when it comes to manufacturing. And a once in a century moment when it comes to the transition from combustion engines to electric vehicles.”
Supply chains for critical minerals and battery components are another important factor in a successful U.S. policy. Albert Gore, Executive Director of the Zero Emissions Transportation Association, highlighted the importance of building a non-Chinese supply chain and warned that abrupt policy shifts, particularly around tariffs, could jeopardize planned investments and American jobs.
“I think one of the one of the major issues facing the United States in developing a supply chain for minerals outside of China’s sphere of influence, is how to do that in a market-based way, when you're producing a commodity that needs to be financed against the global commodity price, that is set by a country that is not a market economy,” said Gore.
Panelists agreed that while national security and economic independence are vital, isolationist policies may backfire. Instead, they advocated for strategic partnerships with allies and even selective collaboration with China to accelerate innovation,affordability and adoption in the EV sector.