Trump’s “big beautiful bill” threatens to overturn billions of dollars in investments that promise thousands of new jobs for the town of Georgia

The factory promised thousands of new jobs, and arrived at the Cartersville manufacturing base in the 1990s, a town of cotton mills, and in 2006 changed the town of cotton mills before the tire mills arrived.

But now, Republicans in Congress want it Subsidies For projects nationwide Tax reduction invoice Probably the day from the final aisle. President Donald Trump’s signature law could hurt Cartersville despite being overwhelmingly in Republican Bartow County, with 75% backing on all three votes.

The companies say they are continuing their build-out plans. But Bartow County’s elected committee member, Republican Steve Taylor, says ending the tax credit is “a bit of a concern.”

“These companies came and gave us a totally different type of industry and manufacturing for our community,” Taylor said.

With some measures, we will not lose more from such cuts in Trump than Georgia. Big beautiful bill. ” Georgia Republicans are mostly silent, but two democratic US senators from Georgia are stubbornly opposed.

“The vote for this bill is a vote for Georgia’s economy, a vote that will vote for many of the things we worked so hard to achieve in danger.” Senator John Ossoff He told The Associated Press.

And few towns are more likely to lose than Cartersville, a seat in Bartow County, about 35 miles (55 km) northwest of Atlanta. As counties change from rural to suburban, leaders foresee economic boost from $5 billion battery factory That (Hotlink) Hyundai Motor (/hotlink) group and SK Not only is it turned on, but it’s built $2.3 billion solar panel factory belongs to Qcells, which is a unit of Hanwha Solution. Both plants pledge to pay workers an average of $53,000 a year.

Clean Energy Project is taking off in Georgia

The giant Inglash of Georgia’s Clean Energy Project had already begun before then President Joe Biden signed him in 2022 Signature Climate LawInflation reduction methods. However, if anything, That rush accelerated. The 33 additional projects announced by the end of 2024 were the most national. According to E2Environmental Business Group. Although the exact figures vary, the Georgia project has exceeded $2 billion and pledged more than 25,000 jobs.

Buyers of QCells Solar Panels will receive a 40% federal tax credit, including a 10% bonus on domestic content. Qcells itself still gets the production tax credit for the panels that began production at Cartersville last year. The bill also taxes companies that purchase panels and components from some foreign countries, including China. It could help Qcells, but it doesn’t support domestic producers as much as domestic content bonuses.

Once the 1,900-job plant is complete, it requires sophisticated polysilicon, throw it into an ingot, then thinly slice the igot into a solar cell. Qcells says that controlling its own supply chain will help it function more efficiently. These additional steps will earn you an additional tax credit for the company.

Scott Moskowitz, Qcells’ vice president of market strategy and industrial affairs, said the company built its first American factory Climbing the Dalton path During the first Trump administration to respond to Trump’s protectionist trade policy. Moskowitz claims that by quickly cutting federal subsidies, Trump is cutting its target of strengthening domestic production and pushing buyers back to China’s dominant producers.

Some local Republicans have expressed alarms, with 16 GOP state legislators pleading with Congress to maintain the June 17 solar panel tax credit.

“It urges us not to weaken the tax credits because doing so will only harm Georgia’s manufacturing renaissance and create opportunities for Chinese companies to take over the solar industry,” wrote a Georgia lawmaker led by Republican state legislator Matthew Gunville Cartersville.

Some argue that it’s unfair for Congress to pull out the rug after businesses rely on federal support to make large investments.

“From a business perspective, I would like to think about doing it to fulfill them when the contracts are in place,” said Cartersville Mayor Matt Santini.

High-ranking Georgia Republicans are publicly silent

The Clean Energy Project is overwhelmingly located in Republican-owned Congressional districts; Atlas Public Policy The GOP District Discovery hosts 77% of planned spending.

But Republican Rep. Barry Rudermilk, who lives in Bartow County, praised Cut as he walked past his house in May, saying the bill “unleashes stifling American energy with a new Democrat green fraud.” Oil, gas and coal production On federal land.

Republican government’s Brian Kemp He says he’s away from the discussion.

“Our position is that Congress is what it takes to determine the future of the IRA,” said Kemp spokesman Garrison Douglas.

Kemp loves green energy investment and work, and even declared his goal was to make Georgia the “electric capital of America.” However, Kemp and Ossoff clash over who should win credit for Georgia’s green energy boom. Kemp is a sharp conflict He said Biden-era incentives have spurred flooding investments, and many industries have already made it before the Inflation Reduction Act was passed.

Unlike his current silence, Kemp voicedly opposed domestic content requirements that made it difficult for Hyundai to access the same tax credits as an organized US-based automaker.

“Generally speaking, the inflation reduction method chose winners and losers, and we saw it negatively affect our partners,” Douglas said.

All nine Republican House members of Georgia voted to support the bill, which includes US Buddy Carter. I signed a letter earlier Supports green energy subsidies. Carter, Those seeking GOP nominations Opposing Senate Ossov in 2026 is The 7.6 billion Hyundai Factory Elabel, which began production last year.

Hyundai wants to build batteries in a 3,500 employee factory near Cartersville, so anytime Buyers can fully take advantage of the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles. These credits will end six months after the bill is enacted in its current version.

The company is publicly circumventing the current legislative battles. However, there is US demand for electric vehicles Takeoff is slowHyundai says it will now build a gas-electric hybrid vehicle in Elabel.

“We continue to focus on electrification because we believe it represents an important long-term opportunity,” Hyundai spokesman Michael Stewart said in a statement. “At the same time, our business continues to provide all the powertrains as it is driven by consumer demand.”

Bartow County leaders say keeping the project on a solid footing is interesting for everyone, and work should outweigh politics.

“I don’t know that people line up along the party line along this topic,” Santini said.

But Ossoff says partisanship motivates many Georgian Republicans to turn their backs on the state’s economic interests.

“For current National Republicans, loyalty to Trump is more important than anything else, and this is what Trump says he wants,” Ossoff said.