Trump Plans To Kill Obama-Era Subsidies For Electric Cars And Renewable Energy Sources

White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow announced on Monday that the Trump administration will seek to end subsidies for electric cars and renewable energy sources.

Kudlow said he expected subsidies for electric cars to be phased out by 2020 or 2021. It is unclear how the administration plans to cut the tax credits since they were enacted by Congress and would require Congressional approval to end them.

“We want to end, we will end those subsidies and others of the Obama administration,” he said, according to Bloomberg.

Kudlow made the remarks in response to a question about what the administration would do about GM’s plans to lay off 15,000 people and shutter five plants across North America. President Trump last week floated slashing GM’s subsidies for electric vehicles and raising auto tariffs to punish the company if it cuts jobs in the U.S.

Electric car buyers currently receive a $7,500 tax credit per vehicle.

The Hill notes:

But that phases out as each company sells 200,000 cars — a level that a handful of companies, including General Motors, are approaching.

Utilities also get tax credits for producing wind power and for installing solar power equipment. Those incentives, enacted before former President Obama took office, are on track to phase out in the coming years.