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Earlier in the week, President Donald Trump visited the Ford Dearborn truck plant for a tour. You probably know about this because a Ford employee during Trump’s tour called him a “pedophile protector,” and the president then pointed at the guy and said “fuck you” and then flipped him off. Ford suspended the employee. The union has pledged to defend the auto worker. Presumably, Trump wants the employee fired.
Of course, that was all predictable, given Trump’s huge unpopularity. But that’s not what I’m talking about today.
During that visit, Trump spoke with reporters, and in answering a question about the USCMA (which Trump himself negotiated), said, “I think they want it. I don't really care about it. We don't need Canada [sic] product.”
Trump: on USMCA: "I they want they want it. I don't really care about it. We don't need Canada product."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-01-13T18:29:23.044Z
Canadians, while friendly, typically don’t like being messed with. And boy, has the United States been messing with them since Trump returned to office.
So, guess what happened when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Beijing on Friday? He negotiated his first trade deal since taking office. It’s also something that could potentially harm U.S. auto sales in Canada permanently.
China will drop its canola seed duties to 15 percent by March. Canada will allow China up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles to be sold in Canada and imported with just a 6.1 percent tariff.
That’s right, Canadians will soon have access to Chinese EVs, which will presumably be more affordable than some of the other options available in the country. This is something the United States hasn’t wanted to happen, and the previous Trudeau administration imposed a 100 percent tariff on Chinese EVs. That was done alongside President Biden’s own tariffs on Chinese EVs.
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Fifty thousand isn’t a huge dent in a market that moves approximately 2 million vehicles per year, but it is demonstrating that Beijing is working hard to capitalize on the United States’ diminished standing in the world.
💡Do you have information about Canada’s auto industry? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me on Signal at chadkirchner.1701, or with another secure communication method.
It’s also completely predictable. While our own government is focused on peace prizes, or invading Minneapolis, or covering up the release of the Epstein files, China is trying to make real moves to ensure it is the dominant economic and political superpower for the next one hundred years.