Joe Biden’s dirty EV secret

President Joe Biden once declared himself “a car guy,” and his infrastructure priorities have backed that up. His administration has approved $7.5 billion in funding for EV charging stations nationwide as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law, set a goal for EVs to make up 50% of new vehicle sales by 2030 and is still pressing Congress to pass tax credits for EVs and batteries.

But there’s something missing: what to do with the diesel and gas-guzzling vehicles being exported in increasingly large numbers to low-income countries. There’s a potential fix, though.

The U.S is a major used car exporter. While it’s tempting to think used cars all end up in the junkyard or meet their fate in a trash compactor, the truth is a little more complicated: Many get shipped overseas.

• The U.S. exported $8 billion worth of used passenger vehicles in 2021, up from about $6 billion in 2017 when the U.S. was still rebounding from a lull in exports, as countries including Mexico introduced import restrictions.
• A large number of vehicles end up in Africa. Nigeria alone took in around $720 million worth of used vehicles from the U.S. in 2021.
• The issue mirrors the U.S.’s widespread export of plastic waste to poorer nations.

The EV revolution could make matters worse. The Biden administration’s goal of ramping up EV sales may make U.S. skies clearer and reduce the country’s emissions. But in the case of the…