Canadian auto workers union Unifor has expressed concerns over President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill that would give additional EV rebates to vehicles produced at unionized factories in the U.S.
Under Biden’s plan, electric vehicles produced at unionized sites will be eligible for an extra $5,000 federal tax credit, in addition to the existing $7,500 tax credit available for all EVs. Canada’s Standing Committee on International Trade recently held a meeting in relation to Biden’s plan and Unifor stated it could act as a disincentive for automakers to invest in Canadian production.
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“A subsidy of $12,500 to purchase only U.S.-built electric vehicles, which amounts to a subsidy of 22 per cent for an average electric vehicle not only cuts Canada out of the market but it creates a strong disincentive to invest in Canadian electric-vehicle production,” assistant to Unifor National president Jerry Dias, Shane Wark, told the committee. “What drives production and investment into Canadian assembly plants is our ability to sell into the U.S. market. U.S. showrooms are the final destination for roughly 90 per cent of vehicles assembled in Canada.”
While Wark applauded the U.S. for incentivizing the purchase of EVs, he said “the trouble starts when Canada… is treated as an afterthought.” Wark said he would like to see Canada included in the rebate, Auto News reports.
Unifor is hoping for a resolution to the issue by the time it conducts contract negotiations with Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis in 2023, the same year that the United Auto Workers (UAW) union in the U.S. also holds contract negotiations with Detroit’s Big Three.
