Certainly goes against the climate emergency the federal government is constantly going on about. They insist that western energy workers will have to switch to good paying green economy jobs. Why can’t eastern autoworkers transition to the same while everyone benefits from cheap EV partially funded by the Chinese government?
Excellent article, a perspective not heard enough from inside the tariff wall. Part of the Chinese EV story that is not being written about is the technology. Not in the cars, not the cars themselves - which are both ahead of the game - but how they are made. The Chinese car factories are significantly more automated than Western ones. In fact when companies like BYD build factories in places like Mexico they dumb the factories down, as a matter of state policy, and hire more workers. If we only credit the Chinese lead on EVs as a matter of state policy and cheap labour Western companies will never be competitive, and the tariffs will become permanent protectionism.
I think we have to think about the motives of the PRC, which in reality, despite the name, is not a People's Republic at all. It is a dictatorship.
This is not a friendly trading partner like, say, Japan.
Perhaps some day, it will be. Anything's possible.
Until then, I think their track record is to undermine the economy, academia, telecommunications, media, government, etc of their rivals and/or strategic countries from a resource/transport/military perspective until they are at the mercy of, and taking direction from, the CCP.
I'd be for an import ban - the 100% tarrif does not go far enough.
The other issue is North American automakers are increasingly making less reliable, more expensive vehicles. This is because the incentive to maximize financial returns and limit expenses appears to be to make high-margin vehicles that break down more quickly and need more frequent parts and service visits - many of them electrical or electronic - This business model is evident in these NA manufacturers, essentially since the beginning of this millenium - particularly from what used to be called The Big Three (who are not so big anymore).
I'd rather see tax and regulatory encouragement of new smaller automakers with a mandate to manufacture in North America, and keep the price of autos under $40,000 USD - possible if you simplify and de-tech these vehicles considerably, and return to less expensive yet more reliable mechanical systems less dependent on computers / drive-by-wire systems. Get rid of adaptive cruise and lane departure; auto wipers and lights, and the like; return to manual parking brakes (perhaps even manual transmissions), power steering pumps, and declutter the interior of useless and highly distracting infotainment - if someone wants to slam in an aftermarket audio/visual system, so be it - sell the vehicle with a space for such a system with a blank panel in front of it and powered hookups in place. Make these vehicles serviceable by someone other than the dealerships - institute right-to-repair legislation so manufacurers have to sell replacement parts with jobber options available after a certain number of years. It can be done, because that's how it was done until about a decade ago.
All sounds eminently sensible, if you can make the economics work in North America. But elsewhere, you can now buy a fully loaded Chinese car for US$20k
1. The price of vehicles in the Global South may have more to do with what people can afford than it does with what the vehicle costs to build or can be sold for in an OECD country. A comparison of ICE and electric might be informative in this regard.
2. Is it in our strategic interest to buy Chinese when other options are avail, considering they are a strategic competitor?!
Fair enough. But two things: Costa Rica is an OECD member and most imported things are more expensive than they are in Canada. Two, I guess my point is that consumers do not think strategically. If the price differential remains this big for a protracted period, it will be an extinction event for the North American car industry.
I can understand most imports costing more, but my point was more a comparison to a non-EV. If you indicated that in the original post, my error. As for average citizens not thinking strategically, no kidding. Just look at Canadian politics and voting records. That said, if the average consumer/voter continues to look no further than their next pay cheque in any and all decisions they make, it will not be just industries that become extinct, so will our standard of living.
That said, it is good to have issues to think about that force us outside our comfort zone. Thanks for sparking the thought process. ✅
I recently listened to the head of a Canadian auto union speak in favour of the tariff on Chinese EV’s. He said the industry needed a few years of protection from cheap Chinese imports in order to come up with a truly competitive EV model. At which point (in theory), the tariff could be reduced or eliminated. Do you think he’s being realistic?
Really conflicted on this one. 6First off we were always going to follow the US lead & match their tariffs or our auto industry & NAFTA deal would disappear.
On the other hand the cheap Chinese EVs have to potential of moving the transition off of gasoline forward in leaps & bounds. Cost remains one of the largest hurdles to mass adoption of EVs.
Is that worth sacrificing our auto industry? Probably not, but the cheap options might keep on coming. What if India starts to.produce there own version of BYD to sell overseas?
I bought a KIA Soul EV 2yrs ago & love it but it was twice the price of any new car I had every bought before.
Same here. Kia Telluride was the best car on the market in its price range.Hyundai Palisade pretty much the same car. Love it. But I didn’t find any of the North American, Japanese or European models blew me away - unless you go into the luxury range. These cars are giving people that tech for half the price.
I watched and worked while the threaded fitting and pipe market was taken over by Chinese steel shops. Cheaper and inferior products,QC non existent. So many jobs are gone. Canada does not make anything anymore,USA sent a lot of patents,Heat Stamps,spec to China for cheap labour and inferior products. Good luck getting those EV cars serviced. At least we can still hold GM to their warranty
Certainly goes against the climate emergency the federal government is constantly going on about. They insist that western energy workers will have to switch to good paying green economy jobs. Why can’t eastern autoworkers transition to the same while everyone benefits from cheap EV partially funded by the Chinese government?
Excellent article, a perspective not heard enough from inside the tariff wall. Part of the Chinese EV story that is not being written about is the technology. Not in the cars, not the cars themselves - which are both ahead of the game - but how they are made. The Chinese car factories are significantly more automated than Western ones. In fact when companies like BYD build factories in places like Mexico they dumb the factories down, as a matter of state policy, and hire more workers. If we only credit the Chinese lead on EVs as a matter of state policy and cheap labour Western companies will never be competitive, and the tariffs will become permanent protectionism.
Free trade forever!
Hi John. Great to find you on Substack. 1. Free trade is great. 2. There is no "free trade" with China. Ever.
You are right as usual, oh wise one! Hope you’re well, Terry.
I think we have to think about the motives of the PRC, which in reality, despite the name, is not a People's Republic at all. It is a dictatorship.
This is not a friendly trading partner like, say, Japan.
Perhaps some day, it will be. Anything's possible.
Until then, I think their track record is to undermine the economy, academia, telecommunications, media, government, etc of their rivals and/or strategic countries from a resource/transport/military perspective until they are at the mercy of, and taking direction from, the CCP.
I'd be for an import ban - the 100% tarrif does not go far enough.
The other issue is North American automakers are increasingly making less reliable, more expensive vehicles. This is because the incentive to maximize financial returns and limit expenses appears to be to make high-margin vehicles that break down more quickly and need more frequent parts and service visits - many of them electrical or electronic - This business model is evident in these NA manufacturers, essentially since the beginning of this millenium - particularly from what used to be called The Big Three (who are not so big anymore).
I'd rather see tax and regulatory encouragement of new smaller automakers with a mandate to manufacture in North America, and keep the price of autos under $40,000 USD - possible if you simplify and de-tech these vehicles considerably, and return to less expensive yet more reliable mechanical systems less dependent on computers / drive-by-wire systems. Get rid of adaptive cruise and lane departure; auto wipers and lights, and the like; return to manual parking brakes (perhaps even manual transmissions), power steering pumps, and declutter the interior of useless and highly distracting infotainment - if someone wants to slam in an aftermarket audio/visual system, so be it - sell the vehicle with a space for such a system with a blank panel in front of it and powered hookups in place. Make these vehicles serviceable by someone other than the dealerships - institute right-to-repair legislation so manufacurers have to sell replacement parts with jobber options available after a certain number of years. It can be done, because that's how it was done until about a decade ago.
All sounds eminently sensible, if you can make the economics work in North America. But elsewhere, you can now buy a fully loaded Chinese car for US$20k
I offer two thoughts.
1. The price of vehicles in the Global South may have more to do with what people can afford than it does with what the vehicle costs to build or can be sold for in an OECD country. A comparison of ICE and electric might be informative in this regard.
2. Is it in our strategic interest to buy Chinese when other options are avail, considering they are a strategic competitor?!
Fair enough. But two things: Costa Rica is an OECD member and most imported things are more expensive than they are in Canada. Two, I guess my point is that consumers do not think strategically. If the price differential remains this big for a protracted period, it will be an extinction event for the North American car industry.
I can understand most imports costing more, but my point was more a comparison to a non-EV. If you indicated that in the original post, my error. As for average citizens not thinking strategically, no kidding. Just look at Canadian politics and voting records. That said, if the average consumer/voter continues to look no further than their next pay cheque in any and all decisions they make, it will not be just industries that become extinct, so will our standard of living.
That said, it is good to have issues to think about that force us outside our comfort zone. Thanks for sparking the thought process. ✅
I recently listened to the head of a Canadian auto union speak in favour of the tariff on Chinese EV’s. He said the industry needed a few years of protection from cheap Chinese imports in order to come up with a truly competitive EV model. At which point (in theory), the tariff could be reduced or eliminated. Do you think he’s being realistic?
Really conflicted on this one. 6First off we were always going to follow the US lead & match their tariffs or our auto industry & NAFTA deal would disappear.
On the other hand the cheap Chinese EVs have to potential of moving the transition off of gasoline forward in leaps & bounds. Cost remains one of the largest hurdles to mass adoption of EVs.
Is that worth sacrificing our auto industry? Probably not, but the cheap options might keep on coming. What if India starts to.produce there own version of BYD to sell overseas?
I bought a KIA Soul EV 2yrs ago & love it but it was twice the price of any new car I had every bought before.
Same here. Kia Telluride was the best car on the market in its price range.Hyundai Palisade pretty much the same car. Love it. But I didn’t find any of the North American, Japanese or European models blew me away - unless you go into the luxury range. These cars are giving people that tech for half the price.
I watched and worked while the threaded fitting and pipe market was taken over by Chinese steel shops. Cheaper and inferior products,QC non existent. So many jobs are gone. Canada does not make anything anymore,USA sent a lot of patents,Heat Stamps,spec to China for cheap labour and inferior products. Good luck getting those EV cars serviced. At least we can still hold GM to their warranty
Servicing and safety may be their weakness. Getting parts for a Subaru was a nightmare here. Can’t imagine they will be well-stocked to fix EVs