, Columnist
Yellen Junks 200 Years of Economics to Block China Clean Tech
The Treasury secretary’s plan is a protectionist disaster that will impede the path to net zero.
A protectionist disaster.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergImagine if a Chinese company announced plans to build the biggest electric-vehicle battery factory the world had ever seen.
Up to $5 billion would be spent on a single plant to manufacture more power packs every 12 months than the world produced last year. The sprawling facility might cover 1.5 square miles (4 square kilometers), employ an army of 6,500 people, and drive costs down 30%, devastating any competitors that failed to keep pace. The company in question, furthermore, had racked up more than $1 billion of losses over the past seven years, and would post another $5 billion over the coming seven.