I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8495 

To ensure electric vehicle companies do not use child or slave labor in 

the manufacture of, or sourcing of materials for, electric vehicles. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2024 

Mr. DUARTE (for himself, Mr. VAN ORDEN, and Mr. OWENS) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to the Committees on Education and the 

Workforce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To ensure electric vehicle companies do not use child or 

slave labor in the manufacture of, or sourcing of materials for, electric vehicles. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘EV Fair Trade Act 

5 of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF GRANT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the later of the date 

8 that is 2 years after the date of enactment or the date 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 8495 IH

1 on which the database required under section 3(c)(1) is 

2 available, the head of an executive agency may not award 

3 Federal assistance to any electric vehicle company that de4 velops, builds, or sells electric vehicles in the United States 

5 unless a representative of the company fulfills the certifi6 cation requirement described in section 3(a) and complies 

7 with any other requirement of this Act. This prohibition 

8 applies to each stage of production, from mineral extrac9 tion to final assembly of the electric vehicle. 

10 (b) COMPLIANCE.—To comply with the requirement 

11 described in subsection (a), the head of an executive agen12 cy shall review the status of the certifications as main13 tained in the database established under section 3(c) be14 fore awarding any Federal assistance to such electric vehi15 cle company. A company that does not have a certification 

16 in the database and does not provide proof that a rep17 resentative of the electric vehicle company has submitted 

18 a certification to the Secretary pursuant to section 3(a) 

19 shall not be eligible for Federal assistance until such time 

20 as a certification has been submitted to the Secretary of 

21 Labor. A company whose representative has submitted a 

22 certificate that is determined to be false pursuant to an 

23 audit conducted under section 4 shall not be eligible for 

24 any Federal assistance until 5 years after the date on 

25 which a new certification has been submitted and audited. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 8495 IH

1 SEC. 3. CERTIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) CERTIFICATION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—A representative of an elec4 tric vehicle company shall submit a certification to 

5 the Bureau of International Labor Affairs in a form 

6 and manner determined appropriate by the Sec7 retary. 

8 (2) EXPIRATION OF CERTIFICATION.—A certifi9 cation submitted under paragraph (1) shall expire 

10 on the date that is 3 years after the date on which 

11 the certification is submitted or upon substantial 

12 change to a major component of an electric vehicle 

13 manufactured by the electric vehicle company to 

14 which the certification applies. 

15 (b) CONTENTS OF CERTIFICATION.—A certification 

16 submitted under subsection (a)(1) shall include a state17 ment that the electric vehicle company does not utilize ma18 terials that have been sourced through oppressive child or 

19 forced labor or slavery in its supply chain for electric vehi20 cles sold in the United States. 

21 (c) DATABASE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

24 shall establish and maintain a database, to be made 

25 available only to Federal agencies, for the purpose of 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 8495 IH

1 tracking and managing certifications submitted 

2 under subsection (a). 

3 (2) PUBLIC DATABASE.—The Secretary shall 

4 make available to the public a summarized version 

5 of the certifications, which shall consist of a list of 

6 the companies that submitted a certification and 

7 whether such certification is valid. 

8 SEC. 4. AUDITS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—On an annual basis, the Sec10 retary, acting through the Bureau and in consultation 

11 with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall conduct 

12 an audit, on a random basis, of not less than 10 percent 

13 of certifications submitted pursuant to section 3(a) to en14 sure that such certifications are accurate. 

15 (b) ADDITIONAL AUDITS.—In addition to the audits 

16 required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall conduct 

17 an audit of a certification submitted by an electric vehicle 

18 company if the Secretary determines that a report received 

19 under section 5(a) in relation to such company is based 

20 on credible evidence. 

21 SEC. 5. FALSE CERTIFICATION ALLEGATIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any individual may submit a re23 port to the Bureau alleging that a certification is false. 

24 (b) REVIEW OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall 

25 review a report submitted under subsection (a) to verify 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 8495 IH

1 that the report is based upon credible evidence, which may 

2 include— 

3 (1) internal company documents; 

4 (2) whistleblower accounts; and 

5 (3) verifiable supply chain documentation. 

6 (c) FALSE ALLEGATIONS.—If the Secretary deter7 mines that— 

8 (1) a report submitted under subsection (a) is 

9 not based on credible evidence; and 

10 (2) the report was submitted for competitive 

11 advantage, 

12 the Secretary is authorized to impose up to a $250,000 

13 fine on entities that submit false allegations. 

14 (d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue, 

16 after opportunity for public comment, such regulations as 

17 are necessary to carry out subsections (a) and (b). 

18 SEC. 6. REPORT. 

19 The Secretary of Labor shall submit to Congress, on 

20 an annual basis, a report that includes each of the fol21 lowing: 

22 (1) Each certification that the Bureau received 

23 during the preceding year. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 8495 IH

1 (2) A summary of audit results, including the 

2 number of certifications audited, any discrepancies 

3 found, and actions taken as a result. 

4 (3) A description of any instance in which Fed5 eral assistance was denied due to lack of certifi6 cation or false certification. 

7 (4) Any challenges faced in the certification and 

8 audit processes and recommendations for improve9 ments. 

10 (5) A description of collaborative efforts with 

11 other Federal agencies in the pursuit of ethical 

12 sourcing. 

13 (6) Any feedback from electric vehicle compa14 nies on the certification process and areas for im15 provement. 

16 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the 

19 Bureau of International Labor Affairs. 

20 (2) ELECTRIC VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘electric 

21 vehicle’’ means a motor vehicle that— 

22 (A) is capable of being powered wholly or 

23 in part by an electric motor that draws elec24 tricity from one or more batteries that are caVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Jul 04, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8495.IH H8495

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•HR 8495 IH

1 pable of being charged from an internal or ex2 ternal source; and 

3 (B) is manufactured primarily for use on 

4 public streets, roads, and highways. 

5 (3) ELECTRIC VEHICLE COMPANY.—The term 

6 ‘‘electric vehicle company’’ means a person who is 

7 engaged in the business of manufacturing electric 

8 vehicles. 

9 (4) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘executive 

10 agency’’ has the meaning given ‘‘agency’’ under sec11 tion 551 of title 5, United States Code. 

12 (5) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘Federal 

13 Assistance’’ means any grant, contract, loan, or any 

14 form of financial assistance provided by an executive 

15 agency to an electric vehicle company. 

16 (6) MAJOR COMPONENT.—The term ‘‘major 

17 component’’ means any part, material, or assembly 

18 that is integral to the functionality, safety, or per19 formance of an electric vehicle, including the fol20 lowing: 

21 (A) A battery cell or pack. 

22 (B) An electric motor. 

23 (C) Power electronics. 

24 (D) A drivetrain assembly. 

25 (E) A critical software module. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•HR 8495 IH

1 (7) MINERAL.—The term ‘‘mineral’’ means a 

2 naturally occurring inorganic substance extracted 

3 from the earth, which is used directly or undergoes 

4 processing for utilization in the production of elec5 tric vehicle components, including the following: 

6 (A) Lithium. 

7 (B) Cobalt. 

8 (C) Nickel. 

9 (D) Rare earth elements. 

10 (E) Copper. 

11 (F) Graphite. 

12 (G) Manganese. 

13 (8) SECRETARY.—Except where otherwise spec14 ified, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of 

15 Labor. 

16 (9) SLAVE OR CHILD LABOR.—The term ‘‘slave 

17 or child labor’’ has the meaning given— 

18 (A) the term ‘‘oppressive child labor’’ in 

19 section 3(l) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

20 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(l)); and 

21 (B) the term ‘‘forced labor’’ in section 307 

22 of the Tariff Act (19 U.S.C. 1307). 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•HR 8495 IH

1 SEC. 8. PROHIBITION ON CREDIT OR DEDUCTION FOR EX2 PENDITURES IN CONNECTION WITH NON3 FAIR TRADE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANUFAC4 TURING. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part IX of subchapter B of chap6 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

7 by adding at the end the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 280I. EXPENDITURES IN CONNECTION WITH NON9 FAIR TRADE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANUFAC10 TURING. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No credit or deduction shall be 

12 allowed for any amount which— 

13 ‘‘(1) is paid or incurred in carrying on the 

14 trade or business of an electric vehicle company in 

15 manufacturing electric vehicles, and 

16 ‘‘(2) is allocable to any period during the tax17 able year during which the electric vehicle company 

18 fails to comply with the EV Fair Trade Act of 2024. 

19 ‘‘(b) ELECTRIC VEHICLE COMPANY; ELECTRIC VEHI20 CLE.—The terms ‘electric vehicle company’ and ‘electric 

21 vehicle’ shall have the respective meanings given such 

22 terms by the EV Fair Trade Act of 2024.’’. 

23 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

24 for part IX of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code 

25 is amended by adding at the end the following new item: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•HR 8495 IH

‘‘Sec. 280I. Expenditures in connection with non-fair trade electric vehicle manufacturing.’’. 

1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

3 the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment 

4 of this Act. 

5 SEC. 9. SUNSET. 

6 This Act, and the requirements under this Act, shall 

7 expire on the date that is 7 years after the date of enact8 ment of this Act, and no person shall be treated as failing 

9 to comply with this Act for any period beginning after 

10 such date. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB