KOREAN EVs UP FOR U.S. TAX CREDITS

[Anchor Lead]

Regarding the Inflation Reduction Act which caused controversy for discriminating electric vehicles produced in Korea, the U.S government announced an additional guideline where Korean-made electric vehicles for commercial use can now be eligible for tax breaks. With the new announcement, the South Korean government and the automobile industry have put off some weight from their shoulders for now, as they've been working hard to reach an agreement with the U.S. regarding the IRA.

[Pkg]

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced an additional guideline to the Inflation Reduction Act which means Korean-made electric vehicles for commercial use are now eligible for tax breaks. Commercial clean vehicles eligible for tax deductions are defined as those "acquired for use or lease by the taxpayer and not for resale." Electric vehicles sold for commercial purposes such as rental or lease are eligible regardless of where they were manufactured. It was one of the major requests Korea made to the American government.

[Soundbite] Ahn Duk-geun(Trade minister(Dec. 6, local time)) : "I plan to focus on the last negotiations to find a way to minimize the damage to Hyundai Motor."

[Soundbite] Lee Do-hoon(2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs(Dec.13, local time)) : "We are at a crucial juncture, so I told them about the IRA issue at every meeting."

In order to receive the clean vehicle tax credits of up to 75-hundred dollars, vehicles initially had to satisfy two key conditions - they must be assembled in North America and the battery mining and processing must also take place in the United States. Democrat Senator Joe Manchin argues that these conditions should be applied also to electric vehicles for commercial use. Meanwhile, the Korean government and Hyundai Motor Company have asked the U.S. to relax the condition of final assembly or delay the enforcement of the law since the Korean automaker is already building an electric vehicle plant in America. With the announcement of the additional guidelines, Hyundai Motor expects to regain some of its clean vehicle market share in the U.S. for now by diversifying its sales tactics.