(Table: from Adam Tooze's Chart Book, an amazing daily aggregate of data -- from a historian.)
Do we need an automotive trade deal with the United States?
It's unlikely we are going to have one much longer, given the triumph of rage politics in the United States. Also, it seems the concessions Canada will have to make just to get a negotiation going will be crippling.
Given those realities, is one worth fighting for? Look at the declining share the United States has in world automobile production. Down from a quarter to ten percent in 30% -- in thirty years (and that lumps in Canadian production of American cars). Why fight to stay on the side of the losers?
If we can talk to Saab about starting the production of fighter jets, is it possible we could talk to all the serious automakers in the world about the opportunity to entirely replace Detroit iron in the Canadian market. Hundred per cent electric, of course. Support the workforce through the transition, and eave the market for F-150s and Winnebagos to the Americans, and get with the global trend.
Just spitballin' here. But what about some vision out of Ottawa.
