The announcement of the 100% tax on Chinese electric vehicles confirms the North American protectionist strategy in the automotive sector. The governments’ choice aims to protect a key sector, its companies and its jobs. This measure also reveals an alarming situation for the strategy of electrification of transport and the transition to a carbon-neutral economy.
But there is something more worrying, since this desperate decision reveals the significant technological and logistical delays accumulated by our companies for more than two decades. There is therefore no doubt possible, we are protecting the bad students who drag their feet and are reluctant to seriously commit to the path of an orderly and efficient transition. We only have to examine the efforts and expenses of automobile manufacturers to understand that electric vehicles are not part of their priority. The triumphant reign of energy-guzzling vehicles (SUVs and light trucks) is the result of these massive investments in the development and promotion of this range of products that continues to grow today. We are still at the stage of advertising bombardment that exploits nature as a space of absolute freedom and the use of local stars to push us further into climate denial and environmental impasse. It should also be noted that the majority of these manufacturers have stopped producing compact and subcompact models – do consumers really still have a choice? To understand the problem, it is worth remembering that the price of these vehicles is equal to or higher than that of several hybrid or electric models. But worse, the bad students are already active in pushing back the inevitable end of gasoline vehicles, which is scheduled for 2035. Ultimately, it is up to citizens to absorb the deficits and damage, since they will be deprived of an affordable and ecological choice in a climate emergency context that leaves no room for doubt and procrastination. Protectionism clearly offers us very little protection.
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