Canada’s trade minister on Tuesday met with executives from Normal Motors and Stellantis in Detroit to relay Canada’s disapproval of President Joe Biden’s proposed electric-vehicle buy incentive on American-made EVs and pitch Canada as a battery and EV provide chain to North America.

“At the moment’s conferences in Detroit have been a possibility to advance Canada’s management in producing zero-emission autos,” François-Philippe Champagne stated in a tweet late Tuesday night. “We should construct on the robust relationship between Canada and america to make sure our automotive trade continues to create good jobs on each side of the border.”

Champagne in a satement issued Tuesday evening known as Biden’s proposal, which might see U.S. patrons obtain a rebate of as much as US$12,500 on American-made EVs, “inconsistent with varied commerce agreements, together with the not too long ago renegotiated Canada-United States-Mexico Settlement.”

Buying a U.S.-built EV at a reduction would successfully elevate the price of Canadian-made autos offered south of the border.

Biden’s EV tax credit score proposal is contributing to uncertainty over the way forward for Stellantis’s meeting plant in Brampton, Ont. The automaker has not made a dedication to allocate product to the plant after 2024, in accordance with Unifor, the union that represents hourly staff on the manufacturing facility.

AutoForecast Options has beforehand stated the plant has no product allotted for meeting there past 2023.

Unifor stated whereas Stellantis has made earlier commitments to the union on upcoming investments in Brampton, the proposed tax credit score has created “severe issues.”

Champagne additionally mentioned alternatives for funding in Canada in any respect levels of the battery and ZEV provide chain, “as we work to change into a number one vacation spot for the design, growth and manufacturing of the sustainable applied sciences of the longer term,” he stated in an announcement.

The minister wasn’t out there for remark Tuesday or Wednesday morning, however a spokesperson issued a separate assertion to Automotive Information Canada saying he was in Detroit stressing “alternatives within the Canadian automotive sector and the significance of extremely built-in North American provide chains.”

“We wish to convey the battery ecosystem right here in Canada,” Champagne stated in a video tweet Monday evening, earlier than heading to Detroit.