• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
Celebrating our 1,000th edition. The climate news you need
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  FEATURED
BREAKING: UN Nature Summit, the ‘Paris Conference for Biodiversity’, Moves to Montreal in December June 19, 2022
‘LET’S SUE BIG OIL’: Legal Team Launches Class Action Campaign for B.C. Municipalities June 17, 2022
‘It Could Have Been Any of Us’, Colleague Says, After Brazil Confirms Murders of Bruno Pereira, Dom Phillips June 17, 2022
Infrastructure Gap a ‘Life and Death’ Matter as Northern Canada Warms June 17, 2022
Ban Fossil Fuel Ads Like Tobacco Promos, Doctors Urge Ottawa June 10, 2022
Next
Prev
Home Demand & Distribution Auto & Alternative Vehicles

Trudeau Offers to ‘Align’ EV Incentives between Canada, U.S.

December 15, 2021
Reading time: 4 minutes
Full Story: The Canadian Press @CdnPressNews
Primary Author: James McCarten @CdnPressStyle

@CanadianPM/Twitter

@CanadianPM/Twitter

7
SHARES
 

Canada would be willing to “align” its own electric vehicle incentives with those south of the border if the United States were to ensure Canadian-built cars and trucks would be eligible for President Joe Biden’s proposed tax credit scheme, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday.

The two countries have been building cars together for more than 50 years, Trudeau noted. But that alliance is coming under increasing threat from Biden’s controversial proposal to encourage the sale and manufacture of “plug-in electric drive” vehicles that are assembled in the U.S. with union labour, The Canadian Press reports.

“We are working very hard with the United States on getting them to understand that this proposed EV rebate for American-built cars only is not good, obviously, for Canada, but also not good for the United States,” Trudeau told media.

“There are a number of solutions we’ve put forward. One of them would be to align our incentives in Canada and in the United States, to make sure that there is no slippage or no unfair advantages on one side or the other. We are happy to do that.”

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Trade Minister Mary Ng warned Congress last week of retaliatory tariffs and other punitive measures if the tax credit proposal becomes law. In a letter released Friday, Freeland and Ng proposed making Canadian-assembled vehicles and batteries eligible under the U.S. plan, which would be worth up to US$12,500 in tax credits to a would-be car buyer.

Trudeau’s comments suggested Canada could offer a comparable package that would apply to vehicles assembled in either country.

The letter Friday was addressed to key members of the U.S. Senate, which is expected in the coming weeks to vote on the Biden administration’s $1.75-trillion climate and social-spending package, which includes the new EV tax credits.

It doesn’t appear, however, that Canada’s lobbying efforts have changed any minds at the White House.

“The president advocated for these tax credits because he wants to make it more affordable for the American people to purchase electric vehicles, and because he feels it’s a huge opportunity for American automakers,” press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday when asked about the letter.

Biden and Trudeau discussed the proposal at length when the two met last month in the Oval Office, she acknowledged, before suggesting little has changed since then.

“We have a good working relationship with the Canadians. We had a good conversation about it, but I don’t have any additional policy I would expect or changes to that,” Psaki said.

The federal government is already planning to retool its existing rebate program, which currently only applies to new zero-emission vehicles with a maximum base price between $45,000 and $55,000. The Liberals promised during the election campaign to spend $1.5 billion over the next four years to expand the program in an effort to get more electric vehicles on the road.

The U.S. proposal amounts to a 34% tariff on electric vehicles assembled in Canada and violates the terms of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, Freeland and Ng wrote—not to mention the affront it represents in a country that’s been a U.S. partner in building cars and trucks for half a century.

“We want to be clear that if there is no satisfactory resolution to this matter, Canada will defend its national interests, as we did when we were faced with unjustified tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum,” the letter reads.

It promises a forthcoming list of U.S. products Canada is prepared to target with tariffs, both within the auto sector and beyond.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants a vote on the legislation, which was already approved by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, before Christmas. Few see the timeline as realistic, especially after new economic data Friday pegged the U.S. inflation rate at 6.8%.

Biden was scheduled to speak by phone later Monday with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat who has staunchly opposed several key components of the bill, including the tax credit proposal. Manchin’s vote is a must-have for the White House in a Senate evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans.

Psaki advised against viewing the discussion as a negotiation, but rather “a conversation between two people who have been in public life for some time and have had good-faith discussions directly. This is just a continuation of that.”

Vehicles built in Canada comprise about 50 %U.S. content, said the letter, with more than $22 billion worth of American auto parts imported by Canadian manufacturers every year.

“To be clear, we do not wish to go down a path of confrontation,” it reads. “That has not been the history of the relationship between our two countries—nor should it be the future.”

The letter also threatens to hit the pause button on certain concessions Canada has already made to U.S. dairy producers under USMCA, arguing that the EV tax credits would comprise “a significant change in the balance of concessions” agreed to under the deal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published December 13, 2021.



in Auto & Alternative Vehicles, Canada, Legal & Regulatory, United States

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

Jason Woodhead/Flickr
Pipelines / Rail Transport

Trans Mountain Pipeline On Track to Lose $600 Million, Parliamentary Budget Officer Finds

June 24, 2022
288
Ben_Kerckx/Pixabay
Petrochemicals & Plastics

Plastics Cited as ‘Fossil Industry’s Plan B’ as Guilbeault Announces Partial Ban

June 24, 2022
171
Erik Whalen/wikimedia commons
Severe Storms & Flooding

Yellowstone Park Reopens, But Flood Recovery Could Take Years, Cost Billions

June 24, 2022
60

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Jason Woodhead/Flickr

Trans Mountain Pipeline On Track to Lose $600 Million, Parliamentary Budget Officer Finds

June 24, 2022
288
Ben_Kerckx/Pixabay

Plastics Cited as ‘Fossil Industry’s Plan B’ as Guilbeault Announces Partial Ban

June 24, 2022
171
zephylwer0/pixabay

North American Steel, Aluminium Giants Lumber Toward Green Transition

June 24, 2022
147
Nemaska Lithium/Facebook

Critical Minerals, Hydrogen Lead Ottawa’s Low-Carbon Industry Strategy

June 24, 2022
79
/PxFul

Canadian Farmers Offer Ottawa a Roadmap to Cut Agriculture Emissions

June 24, 2022
83
Bruce Reeve/Flickr

Opinion: Ontario’s New ‘Carbon Tax’ Looks Like the One Doug Ford Fought

June 7, 2022
1.5k

Recent Posts

Erik Whalen/wikimedia commons

Yellowstone Park Reopens, But Flood Recovery Could Take Years, Cost Billions

June 24, 2022
60
TAFE SA TONSLEY/Flickr

Clean Energy Investment to Exceed $1.4T This Year, Still Falls Short of Climate Goals: IEA

June 24, 2022
80
Cjp24/Wikimedia Commons

UK Green Shift Won’t Repeat Job Destruction of Deindustrialization, Report Finds

June 24, 2022
29
Pavlofox/Pixabay

Millions Face Famine as Climate Disasters, Ukraine War Slash Food Supplies

June 24, 2022
38
Chris Lim/Wikimedia Commons

China Has 9 Times the Wind, Solar Potential It Needs for Carbon Neutrality

June 24, 2022
54
willenhallwench / Pixabay

PG&E Risks Greenwashing with Definition of ‘Scope 4’ Emissions

June 24, 2022
44
Next Post
Walter Baxter/Geograph

Climber Quits Canada’s National Team Citing Climate Impact, Colonization

The Energy Mix

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}