Picture A Leader With No F#$King Brains

Picture A Leader With No F#$King Brains

In an ironic move that is likely lost on him, Donald Trump had a video call with attendees at the Davos conference after ordering his federal employees to “terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis.” whitehouse.gov, youtube.com

At one point during the Davos call, he suggested (again) that Canada could become a US state: “And if you're a state, we won't have a deficit, we won't have to tariff you.” radio-canada.ca

The Donald has made it clear that he intends to institute tariffs against Canada to the tune of 25%. The rationale for the tariffs is a claimed $200 billion trade deficit.

He claims that Canada is a bad trade partner to the US. globalnews.ca

In classic Trump fashion, he’s working with data no one can verify. cnn.com

His own Department of Commerce recorded the Canada-US deficit at about $40.6 billion in 2023, not close to the $200 billion Trump claims. bea.gov, washingtonpost.com

The bulk of that deficit is related to Canadian oil and gas sales to the US.

Oil the US needs and doesn’t produce enough of on its own. financialpost.com

The businesses most likely to be affected by potential tariffs are metals, food and beverage, and chemicals. The transportation and wholesale trade sectors would also suffer significant indirect effects from potential tariffs. desjardins.com

For a President who ran a campaign promising to return manufacturing to the US and make life more affordable for his people, his initial actions appear dramatically counterintuitive.

Economist and Nobel Laurent Paul Krugman had this to say on the topic in a recent SubStack post: “Trump’s policies won’t eliminate our manufacturing trade deficit. If anything, they’ll make it bigger. Tariffs will lead to both foreign retaliation and a stronger dollar, hurting U.S. exports even as they reduce imports. Tax cuts will cause a potentially inflationary rise in the budget deficit; combined with the inflationary impact of tax cuts, this will cause the Fed to stop cutting rates and possibly increase them, driving the dollar and the trade deficit even higher.” paulkrugman.substack.com

If he proceeds with the tariffs, the impacts on the North American automotive industry could be devastating, leading to high costs, layoffs and supplier bankruptcies in both countries. autonews.com

It will also suck for US consumers.

According to an estimate by Wolfe Research, passing the 25% tariff expense to consumers would add about $3,000 to the average cost of a vehicle sold in the US. wsj.com

If I were a Canadian politician, and it’s likely a good thing that I am not, I would take inspiration from Anders Vistisen, a Danish member of the European Parliament, who told The Donald to “f#$k off” in response to Trump touting the idea of buying Greenland. youtube.com

I knew I liked the Danish people for a reason.

China’s Automotive Expansion

Hongqi Tiangong 05 EV sedan with 750 km of range unveiled. carnewschina.com

Chinese EV manufacturers BYD, Geely, and SAIC are challenging the EU's import tariffs at the European Union's Court of Justice. reuters.com

BMW also supports the challenge, backing the Chinese OEMs in their case. reuters.com

CATL accounts for more than 45% of the EV battery market in China. carnewschina.com

BYD expands into El Salvador. cnevpost.com

BYD exported more than 11K Shark pickups in 1st year of availability. cnevpost.com

Must Know Musk News

Tesla launched the new Model Y in the US, Canada and Europe. reuters.com, caranddriver.com

Elon wants to give his heart to you. bbc.com

Right-wing extremists, white nationalists, and neo-Nazis are celebrating the fact that Elon wants to give his heart to them. rollingstone.com

This short Cybertruck video made me laugh. youtube.com

Rise Of The Machines

A robot hand helps pianists overcome injuries caused by over-practicing. arstechnica.com

A robot learns how to waltz. popsci.com, youtube.com

Rheinmetall Canada shows off new drone defence tech in the desert of Saudi Arabia. youtube.com

Energy

Even in Texas, sheep and solar energy go together like chocolate and peanut butter. apnews.com

UAE is building the world’s largest solar and battery storage facility. electrek.co

Global energy storage capacity has tripled in recent years, thanks to an industry that barely existed a decade ago. bloomberg.com

Alberta’s government thinks solar and wind farms by the mountains are ugly, but digging up coal by the mountains is fine. theglobeandmail.com

In 2024, 11% of the EU’s power was supplied by solar electricity, surpassing coal. theguardian.com

Venture Global plans the energy industry’s largest IPO in over a decade in the hopes of LNG expansion. wsj.com

US oil execs didn’t want Trump to exit the Paris Agreement. reuters.com

Trump's actions and uncertainty hold down oil prices. reuters.com

Michael Bloomberg steps in to help fund UN climate initiatives after the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. reuters.com

"China is concerned about the U.S. announcement that it will withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Climate change is a common challenge facing all of humanity. No country can stay out of it, and no country can be immune to it." reuters.com

But Wait, There’s More

Can you believe that Mazda has been making the Miata for 35 years? motortrend.com

The Honda and Nissan merger is mostly about beating out China globally and winning in China domestically (with their shared joint venture partner). reuters.com

Mitsubishi says it might sit this one out. reuters.com

Kia has an airbag problem. reuters.com

Ford has a battery problem (in their ICE vehicles). cnbc.com

VW has no “new” EV launches planned for 2025. insideevs.com

US VW dealers are angry that they won’t be able to sell Scout EVs. carscoops.com

Stellantis confirmed the long-rumoured mid-size pickup is in the works. motor1.com

Subaru had a data breach. wired.com

Cadillac has plans for a new, super-fast electric Cadillac. theverge.com

Motortrend speculates that GM could sell Hyundai-made vans in North America. motortrend.com

Polestar seeks new suppliers after US ban on Chinese software in vehicles. ft.com

Waymo thinks it has found a way to let it use its autonomous van built by Chinese OEM Zeekr in the US. wired.com

Canadian EV rebate claims topped $1B in 2024 before the program ran out of cash. autonews.com

Kodiak delivers their first driverless trucks to Atlas Energy. techcrunch.com

Let’s Circle Back

Updates on some previous newsletters

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Also, more Roger Waters… “Money, get away…” youtube.com