Domestic competitors aren't producing affordable vehicles. They are producing oversize, overweight, overcomplicated, overpriced crap.
They aren't competitive primarily because they are focused on a low-volume, high-margin luxury market, and avoiding the high-volume, low-margin utilitarian market. It is their abandonment of that market that provided China with the opportunity to corner it.
Lmao no. That is not the bigger issue compared to literally continuing to poison the planet with fossil fuels.
That's North American governments' stated reason for imposing the tariffs, but that could also be addressed by matching industry subsidies. But I think government understands that the North American auto-makers are intentionally sabotaging the EV market and subsidies likely wouldn't produce a vastly different result.
I would love it but I don't think the economy could handle the 100,000s of jobs that would be lost. The big 3 can't compete and China charges a similar tariff on our vehicle exports. Only theirs isn't a single fee. They charge a tariff, plus additional taxes and fees, the price can double by purchase depending on the vehicle. China can always start making them here and get around it.
We do have affordable EVs. Go look at the used market or a new Leaf. PHEVs are plentiful too. This is about preventing China from putting everyone out of business because the Chinese government has deeper pockets than any of the global auto manufacturers that would be affected by this.
Europe seems to be way ahead... Why can't US actually make affordable cars that actually work and have some modern features? Meanwhile all EU brands have actual entry model.
China is prioritizing ev production and subsidizing it. If the US wanted to protect their industry they could electrify their infrastructure and subsidize their EV market instead of pushing tariffs on Chinese goods.
I swear to God, Americans are so propagandized they'd chop off their own foot if it had a "made in china" sticker on it.
Transitioning to EV's is still good for the environment in the long run. It's not like getting gas and coal is environmentally friendly. China didn't cause the Enron scandals, BP oil spill, the pipeline shenanigans, etc.
China wants to subsidize the transition to EVs in N America. N. America would rather tax their own citizens and risk inflation to protect the profits of capitalists.
And don't fucking dare tell me this is about jobs. Because if we were on better terms with China, the capitalists would move the factory there.
China wants to subsidize the transition to EVs in N America.
No they don't, they want to dominate the next generation of the global automotive industry and their plan involves killing all of the competition in both North America and Europe. It is literally impossible for western auto manufacture to compete because of the pay, worker safety, and environmental regulations that they have to comply with.
If China gets its way every place in North America and Europe that used to have auto manufacturing will look like Detroit.
And don’t fucking dare tell me this is about jobs. Because if we were on better terms with China, the capitalists would move the factory there.
You are attempting to use an argument that is objectively incorrect based on empirical evidence. Auto manufacturers could have moved production decades ago when relations were friendly but they mostly didn't. The vehicles they built in China were for the Chinese market. The vehicles they built in Europe were for the European market, and the vehicles they built in North America were for the North American market.
If China gets its way every place in North America and Europe that used to have auto manufacturing will look like Detroit.
How did Detroit end up looking like Detroit, was that China too? A big portion of auto manufacturing for American vehicles is already outsourced to places like Mexico anyway.
It's because this fight isn't about the EVs themselves, it's about the oil industry needing to stop the transportation industry from moving away from fossil fuels at all costs to keep their extremely profitable cartel afloat.
Tariffs are paid by the importers, normally. The final cost to the consumer is then raised by an equivalent amount to offset the tariffs and make a profit.
I'm not sure why anyone else would pay tariffs. Either way, the cost goes up and the government rakes in some money.
How is that moot? For that to work it would mean that for every Chinese auto sale the Chinese government not only subsidizes manufacturing but also has to give another 100% of the sale cost to the Canadian government.