Good morning! It’s Monday, February 10, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.
1st Gear: The Real Reason Trump Wants Canada As The 51st State
Since taking office three weeks ago, president Donald Trump has threatened to impose sky-high tariffs on all kinds of goods, pulled funding for the rollout of electric vehicle chargers and set Elon Musk loose across all manner of government departments. In the background, Trump has also alluded to his desire to bring Canada under America’s wing as the 51st state, and now the likely real reason for this sudden land-grab has become clear: Trump wants to get his hands on Canada’s valuable rare earth elements.
Canada has a healthy stash of elements such as aluminum, cobalt, copper, nickel and magnesium buried beneath its surface, all of which are essential for modern technology like electric vehicle batteries. Trump knows all about this wealth of minerals, and wants Canada to enter the U.S. so he’ll have access to the elements, reports the Toronto Star:
In a hot mic moment caught earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was heard telling a group of business, industry and union leaders that U.S. President Donald Trump is serious about his threat to take over Canada, in part due to the country’s abundance of crucial minerals and natural resources.
“I suggest that not only does the Trump administration know how many critical minerals we have but that may be even why they keep talking about absorbing us and making us the 51st state,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau also said that the U.S. is “very aware of our resources, of what we have, and they very much want to be able to benefit from those.”
Trump previously said he would use “economic force” to push Canada to join the union, these comments were followed by the “Home Alone 2″ actor’s push to impose 25 percent tariffs on goods imported from Canada. A delay was ultimately put on the tariffs, but only for 30 days.
For a permanent end to the trade war that could follow, Trump offered Canada a simple solution: become the 51st state. That’s not an option many north of the border are keen to pursue, as Automotive News reports:
Transport Minister Anita Anand, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon were asked about Trudeau’s comments in Toronto on Friday.
Anand said it’s clear that everyone at the summit agreed on one thing. “And that is, there will be no messing with the 49th parallel,” she said.
“Canada is free. Canada is sovereign. Canada will choose its own destiny, thank you very much,” MacKinnon said.
If Canada refuses, then I’m sure Trump will just come up with a new name for the nation that nobody else around the world will pay much attention to. You know, just like he did with the Gulf of Mexico.
2nd Gear: Automakers Want The EV Rollout To Continue
As well as targeting Canada, Trump has spent a lot of time firing shots at the electric vehicle industry since he took office last month. The convicted felon’s latest attack on the electric revolution came last week when he paused funding for a raft of EV infrastructure projects that had already been approved but now, the move is facing backlash from automakers.
A group representing automakers including General Motors, Stellantis and Toyota has reportedly called on Trump to backtrack on the cuts announced last week and reaffirm funding for new EV chargers across America, reports Reuters. The group, called the Electric Drive Transportation Association, is calling on Trump to restore the $5 billion fund that was earmarked for new chargers and to assist states in the purchase of electric cars for their fleets:
A group representing automakers and electric vehicle charging companies on Friday urged the U.S. Transportation Department to quickly restart a $5 billion government EV infrastructure program.
On Thursday, the Trump administration said it was suspending the electric vehicle charging program and rescinding approval of state EV charging plans pending a new review.
The Electric Drive Transportation Association, whose members include General Motors, Toyota, BorgWarner, EVGo, Stellantis, Walmart and others, said it urged the Trump administration “to quickly resume the critical work of the program and minimize uncertainty for states and their businesses, who have invested in infrastructure to serve local and national goals for advanced transportation.”
Trump’s decision to slash funding that was previously approved by Congress is likely to face more than just industry backlash. In fact, a lengthy court case could be on the cards to decide the future of this funding.
That’s because the Impoundment Control Act from 1974 dictates that a sitting president can’t stand in the way of funding that has already been appropriated by Congress. As such, Trump’s memo to rescind funding is thought to be “flatly inconsistent with the law,” as InsideEVs explained.
3rd Gear: Steel, Aluminum Tariffs The Next Threat To American Autos
To keep up the feeling of dread that’s descending on America’s auto industry right now, there are threats of yet more tariffs that could upend manufacturing in the U.S. Not content with just imposing restrictions on Chinese-made technology, Canadian-made Cars and Mexican engines, Trump is now proposing a 25 percent import tax on steel and aluminum.
The new tariff on the metals is expected to be announced today and could hit steel and aluminum imports from “all countries,” reports Automotive News. There is no word just yet on when the additional fees could be implemented, as the site explains:
Trump, speaking to reporters Sunday on Air Force One, said the tariffs will apply to the metal imports from all countries. He didn’t specify when the duties would take effect.
Such a move would have a significant cost impact on automakers and their suppliers.
The president also said he would announce reciprocal tariffs later in the week on countries that tax U.S. imports. Those tariffs will not go into effect the same day as the announcement, which could be Tuesday or Wednesday but soon after, Trump said.
The metals join semiconductors in the list of components required in the auto industry that could be about to get a whole heap more expensive thanks to Trump’s love of the “T” word.
As Trump hasn’t given a time frame for the new tariffs on steel and aluminum, it’s been suggested that he could just be using the threat of additional taxes as a negotiating tool and may have no real desire to ever bring such fees into force. It’s for that reason that he delayed tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
If he keeps up this tact, other nations may get wise and then the threat becomes a little too hollow.
4th Gear: Layoffs Are Coming To Boeing’s Rocket Division
To round out a day of depressing news in the Morning Shift, let’s check in with struggling plane maker Boeing to see if it can shine a ray of light on things. Sadly, it can’t and it turns out layoffs are looming at the company that has struggled through a government safety probe, accusations of poor quality control and dwindling sales in recent months.
It’s the company’s rocket-making division that is in trouble this week, as staff responsible for the engines that could take NASA back to the Moon have been warned that their jobs may be under threat, reports Reuters. As many as 400 jobs could be cut at Boeing as a result of cost-cutting efforts and revisions to NASA’s Artemis program:
The Seattle-based aerospace manufacturer said it will issue 60-day notices of involuntary layoffs to the affected employees in the coming weeks.
“We are working with our customer and seeking opportunities to redeploy employees across our company to minimize job losses,” a Boeing spokesperson said via email.
The Artemis program, which is estimated to cost $93 billion through 2025, was established by the U.S. space agency during the first administration of President Donald Trump. It represents the flagship American effort to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission.
The program, however, has had significant delays and rising costs.
The Artemis program will see NASA send astronauts on a crewed flight around the Moon later this year, and a return to the Moon is scheduled for September 2026 at the earliest. The Moon landing was initially scheduled for 2025 but was delayed by the American space agency.
