The trade policies of the second Trump administration have caused something of an uproar in Canada. New tariffs on Canadian goods imported to the U.S. and Canada’s own retaliatory tariffs on the States would exacerbate a car affordability problem that’s affecting both countries, especially since Canada is so reliant on car imports from its neighbor to the south. As a result, politicians, union officials, and now dealer associations are chiming in with ideas on how to deal with it, the latest of which involves auto safety standards.
Chevy Silverado 2500HD ZR2 produced in Canada
Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) CEO Tim Reuss is proposing that Canada change its federal safety and emissions standards as well as eliminate certain types of car taxes to help Canadian consumers and dealers with affordability. Specifically, he believes Canada’s auto safety standards should align with Europe, South Korea, and Japan rather than being more or less in lockstep with the U.S. agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
“We are fast approaching a consumer affordability crisis as the added costs of the tariffs work their way through the different supply chains of all the manufacturers,” CADA CEO Tim Reuss told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday, per Automotive News.
Tim Reuss (middle)
However, Reuss insists that changing Canadian auto safety standards wouldn’t actually compromise real-world safety. He says safety regulations in the EU, South Korea, and Japan aren’t necessarily more lax but “just different.” “Do you really believe a vehicle that has been environmentally certified and deemed safe enough to be driven on a German autobahn […] is not safe enough to be driven in Canada?” he said.
Since Canada has free trade agreements with the three global markets he mentioned by name, “this measure would represent an expansion of Canada’s trade horizons, is supported by almost all manufacturers, including American ones, and would not be seen as a retaliation for any U.S. activity. It is something we can do additionally,” Reuss said.
Chevy Orlando
With a few exceptions like the Chevy Orlando compact van and the GM Daewoo-sourced Chevy Epica midsize sedan, GM showrooms in the U.S. and Canada have been very similar in the 21st century, especially since the 2009 bankruptcy. If changes in safety and emissions standards come to Canada, it could make the country’s automotive landscape quite different from the one in the U.S., likely with more affordable compacts, which Reuss is advocating.
Comments
Canadas future is without the US, i can see eurotrucks, compacts imported and not american cars!Americans are pricing themselves out of our market
I always thought the Europeans had stricter safety standards than the US. I mean, they mandate amber turn signals. Here, there is enough lobbying to allow red turn signals even though the NHTSA themselves did a survey in the early 2000s indicating amber is better.
It’s indeed time for Canada to decouple from our fascist and hostile neighbour to the south. Pity. It will take decades for the US to recover from Trumpism.
And coupling with the even more hostile wolf in sheep’s clothes warrior from the east is a better idea? The same one feeding Russias invasion of Ukraine? Would love to hear your excuse of that one the party is paying you for.