I really can’t comprehend why people think this is protectionism for US automakers as there are very few of them, GM, Ford, and Tesla. There are over a dozen more that aren’t US companies that still manufacture here that such a tariff would also protect, which is why people are talking about protecting the market not a couple of US companies.

How does nationalizing the auto industry fix anything and what companies are you even talking about here?

You talk about the modern era and what people want but this is in stark contrast to what these same people actually buy. You act like people are forced to buy the vehicles that sell the best when in reality it’s a voluntary decision and they sell the best because that’s what people want.

What you’re arguing for here is exactly the same thing that companies like Walmart do to small towns when they move in. Suddenly every local competitor is out of business, their employees wind up working for Walmart and spending their Walmart pay on items from Walmart. The town suffers while the owners prosper. This is like the textbook definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face all so you can selfishly and ignorantly buy a new car at a discount price.

This isn’t “out-competing the US market,” it’s the Chinese government decimating the US market and then controlling it. Your solution seems to be raising taxes or cutting services in order to funnel taxpayer money toward automotive companies. Sounds like something Trump would come up with. Why don’t you stop beating around the bush and just say you think we should bust up the unions and slash worker pay so that we can have cheaper cars and win this race to the bottom?

Probably the worst thing would be if they both walked to the middle of the stage and started 69ing each other before announcing that they’re partnering up and running together for the 2024 ticket as co-presidents.

You say you’re not tuned in to any of this yet you’re here talking about it and have presumably read through the comments to know the context. This is like peak redditor energy.

How ableist of you to assume that we could read your reply.

It won’t matter how fair things were if we are all dead.

What other conclusion can you get from a comment like this? “We’re all dead unless we can all get our hands on these cheap Chinese EVs.” We can’t drive two cars at once meaning we must get rid of our current vehicles, no?

Who’s going to be able to purchase these cars if hundreds of thousands/millions of union workers lose their job due to these Chinese subsidies undercutting everyone else? That has a cascading effect on the rest of the economy if you weren’t familiar with similar scenarios happening in the past like when the housing market was manipulated by banks handing out ARM loans to everyone in 2007. If you think this is all about American protectionism, why is Europe imposing the same tariffs on China for the very same reason? They’re much more accepting of climate change policy and taking steps toward a greener future. Perhaps they also see something that you’re not here.

You were talking about Americans who can’t afford to buy the new EVs currently on the market here in the US. Again, I’ll ask when were new cars ever obtainable for most people and why can’t a used car fill that need like it always has in the past? Seems preferable to decimating the entire industry and all those union jobs just so that China can dump a bunch of their inventory here at artificially low prices.

A Leaf is $29k before the $7500 in federal credits, which puts it pretty close to that $21k price point you mentioned and the Bolt EV was going for $26k before the $7500 credit. Seems like there are options available in this range but the people buying these cars are going for more expensive options based on sales numbers.

There are dozens of models out there already and the used market is growing day by day. Why does everyone need a brand new car and how does building a brand new car for everyone while scrapping every existing car reduce emissions?

At what point in history have brand new cars ever been obtainable for the masses?

Arguing for everyone to go out and scrap their current car just to buy a new one isn’t going to do anything for emissions. You realize building a new car creates more pollution than just buying or using one that already exists right?

The commenter above is claiming that we’re all going to die if we can’t all go buy a new Chinese EV for $10k, which is absurd and counterproductive to reducing emissions.

There are numerous small vehicles for sale in the US already but nobody buys them because they want a vehicle that’s good at more than one thing (being small) when forking over tens of thousands of dollars for it. Nobody is legislating to ban small or efficient vehicles they want to ban a foreign country from manipulating our markets by selling vehicles at artificially low prices due to billions in subsidies for their national brands.

This idea that if we simply threw out all 200+ million vehicles in the US and replaced them with new, more efficient ones, global warming would suddenly end is ridiculous. This is just consumer mentality and treating cars like disposable iPhones with the mindset that you’re “being green.” If you want to help curb emissions, go buy a used Prius or EV instead of demanding that a factory build you a new car and do so at an artificially low price. Go buy a bicycle or electric scooter. You’re not reducing emissions by destroying a product that has already been built and is in good condition just to replace it with a newer version.

I didn’t bother reading the rest of your comment since it devolved into unhinged rambling.

I’m saying this woman is crazy and has zero credibility so there’s no reason to believe anything she says. The woman she attacked is an attorney so I’m assuming she wouldn’t be illegally squatting in someone’s home and jeopardizing her whole career.

Considering the person she accused of being a squatter is an attorney and the person making the accusations is currently sitting in jail, I’m going to assume her story is b/s. The article stated that the attorney’s lease was up but that doesn’t mean she has to move out. I lived in places for years after my lease expired as a “month to month” tenant.

Same thought. This person gives me the creeps, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find out she stabbed someone who tried to break up with her.

Imagine trying that as a visitor from the US where we drive on the other side of the road.

How dare they disparage president Joseph Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Biden in such a way!

How does buying a cheap new car even if you don’t need it going to save humanity or prevent the earth from burning?

Are you arguing there’s no competition in the US or are you arguing that China should have to compete without the subsisides?

Everyone buying cheap new cars isn’t going to be the thing that saves us.

This opinion is ridiculous as “the big 3” doesn’t even exist anymore and hasn’t for over a decade. Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep is owned by a Scandanavian company.

Also this isn’t written to protect the few remaining American companies, it’s to protect the entire auto industry in the US including Kia/Hyundai, VW, Toyota, Honda, Mercedes, BMW, Subaru, etc.

China selling vehicles with massive subsidies that allow them to undercut everyone else in the market isn’t good for anybody but China because as soon as they put their competitors out of business, they will jack the price of their cars up as high as they want.

This is the same reason why when Walmart comes to a new town, all the similar local businesses shut down because it’s impossible to compete with their deep pockets, but now you’re advocating for it on a national scale which will potentially cost hundreds of thousands of domestic manufacturing jobs.

Beavis and Butthead is another similar example. Some group of people have done their best to recreate it digitally in a torrent called the King Turd edition.

It’s just an average. Same reason why $111k won’t get you a house in San Fran, LA, or San Diego even though that’s the average middle class salary for CA. There are lots of rural areas that bring that average down.