Canada

America is ramping up their production again and it will very likely be part of the trade agreements to be supportive their endeavor which leave us once again in a rather awkward position.

I'd like to think a competent government would be able to take advantage from both the American and Chinese subsidies, but I have feeling we lose out on the cheap decent Chinese cars while finding ourselves on the losing end of a North American trade agreement.

For me, first and foremost is the fact that Chinese companies don't have to operate by the same rules here as North American companies have to operate by in China. Until that's fixed, I have no interest in letting them into our market. And that's before we get into issues like some of the more valid arguments for a limited amount of protectionism.

There are a lot of ethical concerns around Chinese worker treatment, economic concerns around Chinese subsidies driving the price down, privacy concerns around Chinese tech's tendency to phone home, geopolitical concerns around giving China even more power in our nation...

But honestly, same. Nowadays I can't get a car at a decent price in a decent time frame, even worse if I want an EV, so what's the expectation? The auto industry has dropped the ball so hard that China would trivially dominate the EV industry if they were allowed to compete. That's bad, but it's so bad because the local industry isn't even in the ballpark of good enough.

In a perfect world we would be divesting from car dependency as quickly as possible. Every policy move we make should be made with the intent that less people need to own a car. But no lawmakers actually agree with that position. They are content for us to pave the world and watch it boil.

If I were you, I'd grab an ebike before tariffs on them go up. It can be a major gamechanger in a city. Saves a lot of money on gas and parking fees if you just want to hit the beach/park/commute to work. Kicking myself for not buying one sooner. Radpower, Juiced, and Aventon have pretty affordable options, and my car has been pretty much left alone most of the spring and early summer.

Grabbed one for $1,200 and have put 624 miles on it in the past three or so months.

They blocked Chinese solar panels years ago. So we have to buy expensive Canadian made panels (which are probably backdoor Chinese panels), or find a supplier that has done an end run by routing panels via SE Asia and tacked on more costs. It's bullshit.

I know you are being sarcastic, but China does not give two fucks where they source the rare minerals that consist within the batteries they manufacture.

Look up the cobalt mines in Africa. China has essentially reintroduced slavery back into Africa with this.