Feb. 24, 2026 | What you need to know about latest tariff chaos; Canada's trade warning
About this episode
Canadian auto leaders emphasize the importance of maintaining strong trade ties within North America, cautioning against shifting focus toward China amid upcoming USMCA negotiations. Lucid cuts 12% of its workforce despite ramping production, while BMW appoints a new Americas leader. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump's reciprocal tariffs, but key auto tariffs remain under different laws, leaving the industry largely affected by ongoing duties. The episode explores the complex geopolitical and economic dynamics shaping North American auto trade, including the delicate balance Canada must strike between China and its continental partners.
Automotive News’ John Irwin explains everything you need to know about the latest tariff and trade developments and what they mean for the auto industry. Experts say Canada’s auto industry must remain aligned with North America, not China. Plus, Lucid cuts 12 percent of its workforce as it works to improve margins.
Lucid
"Lucid is cutting hundreds of jobs, about 12% of its global workforce, as the EV maker works to streamline operations and improve profit margins."
Lucid is a company that makes fancy electric cars. They want to make cars that go far on a single charge and look nice.
Lucid is an American electric vehicle manufacturer known for luxury electric cars with high performance and range. They focus on competing in the premium EV market segment.
production challenges
"Lucid produced about 18,000 vehicles last year, more than double in 2024, but it's still wrestling with production challenges and rising costs that hammered the industry in 2025."
Making cars can be hard because of problems like not having enough parts or workers. These problems slow down how fast cars get made.
Production challenges refer to difficulties automakers face in manufacturing vehicles efficiently, such as supply chain issues, labor shortages, or technical problems. These can delay deliveries and increase costs.
BMW Group
"And BMW Group is sending Sean Green to run many of the Americas starting May 1st. Green is a 35-year company veteran who most recently led BMW Group China."
BMW Group is a big car company from Germany that makes fancy cars and motorcycles. They own brands like BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce.
BMW Group is a German multinational company that produces luxury vehicles and motorcycles under brands such as BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce. It is known for its performance-oriented cars and engineering.
USMCA
"USMCA is by far the best thing to happen to the auto industry as a whole. Yes, did Ontario in Canada lose manufacturing when NAFTA came into place?"
USMCA is a trade agreement between the US, Mexico, and Canada that helps these countries work together on making and selling cars and parts.
USMCA stands for United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal that replaced NAFTA to regulate trade and manufacturing across North America, especially impacting the auto industry.
NAFTA
"Yes, did Ontario in Canada lose manufacturing when NAFTA came into place? Of course it did."
NAFTA was an older trade agreement that helped the US, Canada, and Mexico work together to make and sell cars and other goods.
NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, was the previous trade deal between the US, Canada, and Mexico that facilitated cross-border manufacturing and trade before being replaced by USMCA.
Fortress North America
"Look, we've talked about Fortress North America for, I don't know, five years now, keeping China at bay, doing it together with the Americans and the Mexicans."
Fortress North America means the US, Canada, and Mexico work together to make cars and parts in their own countries instead of relying on other countries like China.
Fortress North America is a concept aimed at protecting and strengthening the manufacturing and supply chains within the US, Canada, and Mexico. It seeks to reduce dependence on foreign countries, especially China, for critical automotive parts and vehicles.
BYD
"...Mexico, the United States forced Mexico to put an end to that construction of a plant down there by BYD."
BYD is a big car and battery company from China that makes electric cars. They want to build factories in other countries too.
BYD is a major Chinese automotive and battery manufacturer known for electric vehicles and battery technology. The company has been expanding globally, including attempts to build manufacturing plants outside China.
Chinese automakers building plants in North America
"...China tried to get into Mexico, the United States forced Mexico to put an end to that construction of a plant down there by BYD. They're going to try and force Canada to do the same if China wants to set up shop here..."
Car companies from China want to build factories in the US, Canada, and Mexico to make cars there. This is causing some arguments about jobs and trade.
Chinese automakers are increasingly trying to establish manufacturing plants in North America to produce vehicles locally. This has led to political and economic tensions, as countries like the US and Canada consider the impact on local jobs and trade policies.
auto parts tariff
""We have to remember the auto parts tariff. There's a big list that the administration came out with back in April, went into effect in May of last year, a list that's since grown of parts that are subject to the auto tariff. But if the part that you're bringing in isn't on that list, it's possible that you've been paying the reciprocal tariff instead.""
An auto parts tariff is like a tax on car parts that come from other countries. This tax can make those parts more expensive, which can affect how much it costs to build or fix cars.
An auto parts tariff is a tax imposed on imported automotive parts, often used to protect domestic manufacturers or as part of trade negotiations. These tariffs can affect the cost of vehicle production and repair by increasing the price of imported components.
Section 122 tariff
"Yeah, and you describe in your story that the section 122 tariff is a bridge to something more permanent."
Section 122 tariff is a special rule that lets the government put temporary taxes on imports to fix trade problems for a short time.
The Section 122 tariff refers to a specific trade measure under U.S. law that allows temporary tariffs to address trade imbalances, often used as a short-term solution while longer-term policies are developed.
auto tariff
"the auto tariff end up being something that the Trump administration, again, sort of the prospect of raising the auto tariff... the US's struck deals with every other major importer of vehicles into the US to bring those rates, the auto tariff rate down from 25% to 15%"
An auto tariff is a tax that a country charges on cars brought in from other countries. This tax can make those cars more expensive for people to buy.
An auto tariff is a tax imposed on imported vehicles, which can affect the price and competitiveness of foreign cars in a domestic market. Changes in auto tariff rates can influence trade negotiations and the automotive industry's economics.
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