Producing EV Batteries (The Lithium Triangle)
On the borders of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia is a plot of land called "The Lithium Triangle." This plot of land contains over 60% of all proven Lithium reserves on Earth. Most EV battery components in the world are made here and in surrounding areas.
We hear about Chile on the news in the USA because it has mines in Chile, and publicly traded companies own several slave labour mines. Children work in these mines, and the working conditions are horrible. But since it's a developing country, it isn't easy to regulate because everyone needs work.
The US government has known about this for a while but does not care because profit margins are high. They only care now because oil prices are skyrocketing due to inflation and an oil supply shortage. So now they have many EV initiatives to incentivize manufacturing EV batteries inside America, funding over 130 billion into multiple components. Currently, the US is very reliant on Lithium imports, and they need to make more battery components within the USA.
The goal is to have over 50% of new vehicles electric by 2030. However, right now, no one can afford EV cars. So there needs to be a lot of progress in a very short time for that to happen. What is likely is there will be people who trade in cars during this recession and stick to public transit to save money. The goal from the government is that by the time everyone can afford cars again, these domestic factories will have produced enough competition to lower EV costs.