Car Wars and the Tariff Order
The Blip Report for Thursday, August 29th 2024
I read a story about how Canada is ordering a 100% tariff on Chinese made EVs – ‘Justin Trudeau says Canada will impose steep tariffs on Chinese EVs and steel’, and that it seems that Canada is worried about its own domestic EV manufacturing sector. But, I would like to remind people that Canada doesn’t produce any electric cars here in Canada! And I would also like to remind people that the only electric cars from Canada, seem to be the ones that are stolen here in Canada and then are shipped overseas!!!
Also, the Chinese-made electric cars sold in Canada are mainly the $100,000 Teslas made in Shanghai, not the inexpensive BYD electric cars like the Seagull (that I want to buy). Anyway … just what EV manufacturers are we really protecting?
So then, I read another story - ‘A trade war with China over EVs could slow Canada's low-carbon transition, groups warn’, that tells us that:
“the United States is Canada's top supplier of EVs, followed by South Korea. China is a close third.”
So it would seem that tariffs on Chinese made electric cars is really meant to support US-made electric cars. And the real problem they are worried about seems to be that:
“Chinese automakers can build cheaper and more technologically advanced EVs. Industry leader BYD's cheapest EV, the compact Seagull, sells for about $13,000. The 2023 Chevrolet Bolt retails for more than $38,000.”
If I can calculate correctly, that means that even with a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs, a BYD Seagull would still be one third cheaper to buy than to buy a Bolt!!!!! And the Seagull is more advanced too!!!
Aaah … but what is the reason that Canada gives for imposing these tariffs?
“The Canadian finance ministry said China’s ‘intentional, state-directed policy of overcapacity and lack of rigorous labour and environmental standard’ threatened workers and businesses in the global EV industry and undermined Canada’s long-term economic prosperity.”
It would seem to be that the tariffs are meant to protect us from the Chinese economic model, and its ‘so-called’ over-capacity.
And a little birdie chirped that we should find out more about this ‘over-capacity’ thing and then we should do that thing here, because it seems to be working really well in China!
And I wondered what else China’s ‘so-called’ over-capacity is doing for them, and so I read a story about their work with hydrogen - ‘One ton of lunar soil could produce 50 kilograms of water: Chinese scientists’, and that in the future when China (and friends) begin mining on the far side of the moon, in addition to extracting the helium-3 that will be used in powering the nuclear fusion reactors, water will also be extracted from the lunar soil!!!
“First, a concave mirror or Fresnel lens can be used to focus solar light to heat and melt lunar soil and produce water, elemental iron, and ceramic glass.”
[note: just like in building the great pyramids - see Fehmi Krasniqi and his movie ‘The Great Pyramid K2019’]
“The water vapor generated during the progress can be condensed into water of liquid form, which can be collected and stored in tanks and meet the demands of humans, various plants and animals on the moon.
Oxygen and hydrogen can be generated from water by electrolysis. The oxygen can be used by human beings for respiration and hydrogen can be used as a source of energy.”
Is that hydrogen for transportation, perhaps? Well … so then I read a story about China’s work with hydrogen drones!!! - ‘The world's first hydrogen-powered long-range drone made its first successful flight’, and that while presently, ‘most electric drones … have a battery life of about half an hour’, their new hydrogen drone:
“weighs only 19 kg when empty, but can carry a payload of up to 6 kg and achieve up to 4 hours of continuous flight, demonstrating amazing performance efficiency.”
And perhaps, with the lunar gravity being lower than the earth’ gravity, maybe someday, man will be flying around the moon in a hydrogen dune drone!