Part of the issue is that we want to have an auto industry in the US; being utterly dependent on a foreign country for the majority of your transportation isn’t a great idea. Yes, the big 3 auto companies should be doing basic electric instead of high-end luxury electric (…that usually doesn’t work super well…), but they need to get competitive in that market. Super cheap electric cars from China would undercut the US auto companies so badly that they would likely end up being bankrupted. At that point, Chinese companies could charge whatever the fuck they wanted, because we’d have no options.
And, more than that, the big 3 auto companies directly employ about 600,000 people, and millions more indirectly (as parts suppliers that do nothing but supply the auto companies); losing those companies means losing millions of jobs. And not just jobs, but often union jobs.
There’s a certain value in trade agreements, as well as a certain value in protectionist trade policies. But, in this case, it would make more sense for the gov’t to take partial ownership of the big 3–through stock purchases–and fund development of competitive EVs. Much like China does through their domestic economic incentives and subsidies.
…And then also fund public transit infrastructure.
So. This one is complicated.
Part of the issue is that we want to have an auto industry in the US; being utterly dependent on a foreign country for the majority of your transportation isn’t a great idea. Yes, the big 3 auto companies should be doing basic electric instead of high-end luxury electric (…that usually doesn’t work super well…), but they need to get competitive in that market. Super cheap electric cars from China would undercut the US auto companies so badly that they would likely end up being bankrupted. At that point, Chinese companies could charge whatever the fuck they wanted, because we’d have no options.
And, more than that, the big 3 auto companies directly employ about 600,000 people, and millions more indirectly (as parts suppliers that do nothing but supply the auto companies); losing those companies means losing millions of jobs. And not just jobs, but often union jobs.
There’s a certain value in trade agreements, as well as a certain value in protectionist trade policies. But, in this case, it would make more sense for the gov’t to take partial ownership of the big 3–through stock purchases–and fund development of competitive EVs. Much like China does through their domestic economic incentives and subsidies.
…And then also fund public transit infrastructure.