Justin Trudeau has an auto agenda, but Joe Biden is in the driver’s seat

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This article was published 17/11/2021 (1133 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WASHINGTON—When U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met one-on-one in the Oval Office Thursday, the first topic Trudeau brought up was the proposed protectionist Buy American policy on electric vehicles. This, according to a source in the Prime Minister’s Office who had been debriefed on the meeting.

In his own press conference after the meetings at the trilateral summit with the U.S. and Mexico concluded, Trudeau said, “We’ve been highlighting our concern around the proposed electric vehicle credits for vehicle electric vehicles uniquely made in the United States and the impact that could have on Canadian jobs and the Canadian auto industry at a time where we are investing significantly in the kinds of zero emission vehicles that the world is going to need in the coming years.”

He’d mentioned it not just to Biden directly, he said, but in meetings with other American elected officials over his two days in Washington.

There were a number of topics under discussion during Trudeau’s visit to the White House — both for meetings with Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, and for the summit with Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The three had policies to announce: about Canada and Mexico sharing with Central America the vaccine doses the U.S. had loaned them, on co-operating further on pandemic measures, on climate change and migration.

But for the Canadians, the proposed protectionist electric vehicle (EV) measures that many fear could cut Canada’s automakers and suppliers out of the emerging vehicle market, were top of mind.

It was top of mind for the Canadian press travelling with Trudeau, too — as demonstrated during the press availability at the start of the meeting in the Oval Office. After the introductory remarks by both leaders — “this is one of the easiest relationships” Biden said — the first question from a Canadian reporter was about the EV measures proposed as part of Biden’s Build Back Better plan that’s before Congress.

“We’re gonna talk about it,” Biden said simply, seeming to dismiss the question and trying to move on. Canadian reporters shouted more follow ups — “Why are you trying to kill the car industry in Canada, Mr. President?” one shouted. “Is there any room for compromise?” another asked.

“The answer is: I don’t know,” Biden said. “And I don’t know what we’re going to be dealing with, quite frankly, when it comes out of legislation. So, we’ll talk about it then.”

A cacophony of followups — to Biden and Trudeau — went unheeded, as White House handlers shouted “Thank you, thank you, thank you” to usher the press out of the room.

(There are a lot of jokes in this town about Canadian politeness, but throughout the day White House staff could frequently be heard thanking reporters shouting questions politicians were pointedly not answering. “Thank you! Thank you!” Such manners.)

Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, was more defensive in her regular press briefing that took place as the two leaders were meeting. The measure, she said, reflected the president’s commitment to American jobs, and she denied it was any kind of violation of the new NAFTA trade pact. “The electric vehicles’ component of the package is something the president is personally very excited about because he believes it’s an industry of the future, an industry that can help create good-paying union jobs,” she said.

Meanwhile, over in Congress, the House of Representatives was preparing a final vote on the Build Back Better economic package — including the Buy American policy — at the same moments that Trudeau was speaking Thursday night. While Trudeau was still in town making the case against it, the House was holding the vote to pass it.

So, maybe not a smashing success story for the Canadian delegation.

But then, no one expected success on that file in the form of any kind of decision or announcement in Canada’s favour. The best anyone was hoping for was to keep talking about it as the bill makes its way through the political process.

And there’s plenty of process left as Trudeau carefully noted in his remarks.

Once it’s through the House, the massive $1.7-trillion (U.S.) spending package needs to get passed in the Senate. There it’s expected to be rewritten in any number of ways, according to the demands of senators such as Bernie Sanders on the left and Joe Manchin on the right. (Manchin, who has been making loud noises opposing the EV incentives that Canada dislikes, was spotted on the White House grounds Thursday while the Canadians were there. According to both the PMO and Psaki, he was not in any meetings with Trudeau or the Canadian delegation.)

And even if it is passed by the Senate and signed into law, the proposed measure would not take full effect for a few years.

So there is lots of time for Canadians to continue making their case, even if at the moment they seem to be rowing against a protectionist current.

In the meantime, a lot else happened during a day of summits and meetings. The joint statement following the trilateral summit meeting — the first such “Three Amigos” get together since 2016 — heralded measures to share vaccines with less developed countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, a new plan to co-ordinate on an updated plan for facing future pandemics of all kinds, launch work on North American supply chains (including on zero-emissions vehicles) as well as some climate change measures and agreements on migration issues, and planning for a Democracy Summit.

Trudeau characterized the summit as “extremely effective” and said it demonstrated to him that “our partnerships are strong and unwavering.”

When I asked experts in advance what success would look like for Canada in this summit, all said something like a friendly dialogue with a commitment to keep talking and working on some of these issues that are important to Canada. Including protectionist measures proposed by both Biden and his colleagues in Congress.

“I think success looks like a U.S. commitment to acknowledge and work with Canada on some of the issues that they have,” said Chris Sands, who heads up the Canada Institute at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington.

After it was over, Perrin Beatty of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce issued a statement saying there was “no definitive win for Canada,” from the Washington visit, but that success would be measured by “outcomes in coming months.”

Trudeau himself said much the same about the process ahead. “Those conversations will continue to happen,” he said.

Biden and Trudeau and their delegations, according to the PMO, met for an hour — about 15 minutes longer than planned. And for the first 20 minutes, they were alone in the room, which was also longer than planned.

Still, things looked grim this week for Canada’s prospects in the immediate battle against protectionism. But the larger campaign will carry on for a while.

Edward Keenan is the Star’s Washington Bureau chief. He covers U.S. politics and current affairs. Reach him via email: ekeenan@thestar.ca