America’s protectionist sentiments will be the undoing of its industries, certainly in relation to the auto sector. Not overnight, but certainly, over time. It’s simply inevitable. While the CEO’s of the Big Three, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis continue to bemoan their lack of productivity and competitive ability, they now find themselves between a Chinese rock and Washington, — now a very hard place.
Due to this administration’s actions in relation to protectionism of American interests, like the auto manufacturing sector, America has fallen behind the Chinese, Japanese and other nations that now manufacture cars that the world needs and wants, versus a nation that plays to special interests in the fossil fuel industry and the plutocrats, — like Trump and his team of sycophants who are both bankrupt of rationality and intelligent decision-making.
While the U.S. lurches around, like, well —- Lurch, of the Adam’s family, bashing into countries, not just unapologetically, but with malice, the rest of world is working on strategic plans to build bollards against those erratic and chaotic actions that take into consideration the planet’s health, climate change and the environment.
(Actually Kushner and the Donald make a good couple).
America has become myopic, self-interested, arrogant and to be honest, just plain dangerous. The rest of the world are quickly reorganizing and developing free trade agreements between themselves, exclusive of the United States.
The United States only accounts for 10-12% of world trade today. China and Europe, both account for larger portions of the world’s trade and when the Global Trade Organization is formalized and completed, it will account for 66% of world trade, outside of American influence or control.
America’s unwillingness to compete and attempt to simply dictate trade relations (or lack of them) to other nations, is having the opposite effect. Not only can America no longer bully and dictate, but the world is building bulwarks against America’s hegemonic and fascist, (yes fascist as the world sees it), interests.
The Big Three Beg For Protection
What the big three are now doing is clearly signalling surrender. As China, Japan and Korea embrace the future and a future without fossil fuel vehicles, trucks and virtually most means of transportation, except for long haul aircraft and ships, the rest of the world is not just talking, but acting to make it happen.
According to Yahoo! Finance in yesterday’s article by Pras Subramanian, the Big Three are delivering the warning to the current administration that;
“China poses a clear and present threat to the auto industry in the the U.S.”. (Alliance for Automotive Innovation), a trade group that represents the Big Three stated.
This myopic and highly-protective group stated that the “U.S. needs to maintain the Commerce Department’s Biden-era prohibition on importing certain technology and software from China, which effectively bars the import of vehicles from Chinese manufacturers.”
Self-interest and surrender in equal parts.
Yet America, expects that it can still dictate its policies onto other nations and do so with arrogance and the expectation of willful subjugation.
Sorry. Those days, are over.
The United States, by its actions is virtually guaranteeing that the future of EV’s will solely be the domain of China, Japan, Korea and Europe.
Last year alone, “Chinese automakers captured approximately 6.1% of the European auto market, a 99% jump from the year before. And that is despite a 35.3% tariff on Chinese vehicles entering the E.U..
Jim Farley of Ford called Chinese-made vehicles “an existential threat” to US auto markets, not just because of the country’s tech advances, but also for its labour infrastructure that supports cheap manufacturing.
“They pose a lot of threat to labour locally, they have huge subsidies from the government that they’r exporting,” Farley said. “As a country, we need to decide what is a fair playing field.”
Of course, it’s always a fair playing field if it only works for the US.
If You Can’t Beat Them – Join Them – So They Are
Ford is now reportedly holding talks with China’s Xiaomi (XIACF) over an EV partnership, potentially opening the door to the US market, though Ford and Xiaomi dispute the report.
And why not, the Fascist in Chief is dead set against ‘fair trade’ in any event.
Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal. Reported that Ford and BYD (BYDDY) were also discussing a battery deal.
GM’s CEO Mary Barra stated “I can’t explain why the decision was made in Canada,” in relation to Canada’s decision to allow 49,000 Chinese-made EVs per year into the country.
I can.
It was fine with America, when those 49,000 vehicles were made by Tesla in China, and American’s perceived that the profits would flow back to the U.S., but as soon as anyone else actually makes, not just as good a vehicle, but a better one, then the US and the Big Three scream of unfair advantage that can be heard from coast to coast in the U.S.
And labour in the US, goes along with the lie.
The Big Three have mostly turned their back on Canada in support of an administration that is corrupt and threatens other nations like Canada with economic damage.
Canada’s automakers that are thriving, are Japanese, with Toyota and Honda building roughly 750,000 vehicles in Canada annually, and it’s going to grow.
Meanwhile, the Big Three are only concerned with their profits, not in maintaining the North American Autopact or looking to the future. Canadians seek innovation, cost-effectiveness and the protection of the environment, while America is doing everything it can to destroy all three of those attributes.
Instead of standing up boldly to Trump and stating that the Autopact actually protects both countries and their auto production, they acquiesce to a kleptocratic administration that is only concerned with ripping off other nations for what it can get.
And whether Americans get it or not, Green technologies are the future. Not ICE vehicles that continue to destroy this planet’s environment and double down on fossil fuel technologies that are destined to go the way of the dinosaur, eventually in any event.
Yes, US automakers are in a tough spot, but it is solely of their own making. Ford has actually thrown in the towel to China, by its actions, no longer producing EVs in North America.
When someone builds a better widget, irrespective of where it is built, it behooves manufacturers to look at the ramifications of that action, rather than pretend that putting up walls can preclude competition.
American automakers are undoubtedly going to continue to shrink in both quality and quantity due to their own arrogance and organizational ignorance.
Personally, had I not just bought another wholly manufactured Japanese auto, I would be buying a Chinese EV next.
C’est la Guerre, America, and the US created this situation.
The world no longer trusts or cares to provide America with ‘the benefit of the doubt’.
We have way too many doubts about America.
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