It is funny how so many old-school auto industry types are losing their minds over the new deal we just signed with China. It's really nice seeing a smart, educated leader in action for a change. I'm really liking what Carney is doing, and his long term plays to set us up for success.
I'm not sure how people are seeing this as a win for Tesla... we're opening up battery and EV competition which will further kill Tesla sales in Canada. The whole 100% Chinese EV import tax (tariff) was at the request of the American Auto Industry in the first place, including Elon.
I was partially being glib, but Tesla's largest auto factory is in Shanghai. They had spec'd out a few models for Canada but paused once the tariffs hit a few years ago. Now that those are lifted, the shipments begin. So technically, those vehicles count as Chinese EVs from a trade paperwork standpoint. I don't think its as a big a "win" as finance sites are claiming it is. People still have to actually buy them.
Interesting. Meanwhile, the big NA auto makers are crying foul, after closing down factories in Canada and moving them South. "You can't let in the Chinese!" They're touting National Security issues... and to me, Elon's Tesla is more of a security issue than the Chinese. Never mind they're talking about Tesla comparables for about $30k Canadian. That's fucking CHEAP compared to prices for EV's right now.
One of the theories I saw on Reddit is that the military brass is planning to step in and tell Trump directly to tell Trump to shut up about Greenland. They have a storied history of dealing with Presidents that don't toe the line with their perspectives on foreign policy. They probably dont want to deal with the potential of unit-level mutinies. If he suddenly stops talking about it like he did Panama, that might be a sign. The US Military-Industrial Complex is a 80-year-in-the-making, trillion-dollar machine. That is not going to be upended by any elected official. Where's the Deep State when you need them?
One thing that makes this whole Greenland adventure even more insulting, is that the entire thing is premised on global warming being a real thing. The whole "artctic goldrush" "Russia and China in the arctic" narrative is based on ice melting and access to oil, minerals, and trade routes becoming much easier. But the same administration that is obsessed with conquering Greenland is also the one claiming that global warming is a Chinese hoax and doing everything they can to cripple any effort to combat it.
That was amazing. Meanwhile, I'm super happy and proud of our PM: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-davos-speech-9.7052725 "Great powers can afford to go it alone. They have the market size, the military capacity, the leverage to dictate terms. Middle powers do not. But when we only negotiate bilaterally with a hegemon, we negotiate from weakness. We accept what is offered. We compete with each other to be the most accommodating. This is not sovereignty. It is the performance of sovereignty while accepting subordination," Carney said. "In a world of great power rivalry, the countries in between have a choice: to compete with each other for favour, or to combine to create a third path with impact."
A better overview of that speech I found on reddit: Carney said multilateralism and the "architecture of collective problem-solving" — relying on institutions like the World Trade Organization, the United Nations and Conference of the Parties (COP) for climate talks — has been "diminished" and countries have to accept they may have to go it alone more often than in the recent past. "Many countries are drawing the same conclusions. They must develop greater strategic autonomy: in energy, food, critical minerals, in finance and supply chains. "A country that cannot feed itself, fuel itself or defend itself has few options. When the rules no longer protect you, you must protect yourself," Carney said. Carney said this more isolationist approach, where there's a "world of fortresses," will make countries poorer, fragile and less sustainable. But it's coming nonetheless and Canada must work with like-minded allies where possible to push back against domination by larger, wealthier and well-armed countries. "The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy. But from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger and more just." Carney said that since taking office, he has moved to change Canada's trajectory: doubling defence spending, rapidly diversifying trade by signing 12 trade and security deals on four continents in six months and drawing even closer to the European Union. "Great powers can afford to go it alone. They have the market size, the military capacity, the leverage to dictate terms. Middle powers do not. But when we only negotiate bilaterally with a hegemon, we negotiate from weakness. We accept what is offered. We compete with each other to be the most accommodating. This is not sovereignty. It is the performance of sovereignty while accepting subordination," Carney said. "In a world of great power rivalry, the countries in between have a choice: to compete with each other for favour, or to combine to create a third path with impact."
I keep looking at that fucktard is still talking. I can't imagine the torture of having to sit there and listen to him ramble for an hour.