From its arid desert climate to its mercurial, centre-right politics, the southern border state of Arizona hardly seems to have much in common with Canada beyond winter-wary snowbirds.

But President Joe BidenB次元官网网址檚 controversial plan to use protectionist tax incentives to promote U.S.-made electric vehicles, which threatens misery for the Canadian auto sector, is making for all kinds of strange bedfellows.

With its proximity to both Silicon Valley and the U.S.-Mexico border, without the high taxes and regulation of tech-savvy neighbour California, the Grand Canyon State is striving to play host to the looming EV revolution B次元官网网址� a vision endangered by BidenB次元官网网址檚 scheme.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e going to be one of the next hubs in the United States for next-generation electric-vehicle manufacturing,B次元官网网址� said Chris Camacho, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

B次元官网网址淲e just want, from a federal policy standpoint, a fair and balanced approach so that consumers can buy the products that they want. Whether theyB次元官网网址檙e produced in states like Arizona or other states across the country, we think prudent policy to induce consumer behaviour should be done fairly.B次元官网网址�

Arizona is far from the only state opposed to the measure, which if passed would allow would-be electric vehicle buyers to enjoy tax credits worth up to $12,500 provided their preferred car or truck was assembled in the U.S. and built with union labour.

But few have been more vocal critics. Last month, Phoenix chamber of commerce CEO Todd Sanders and Jaime Molera, Arizona director of a conservative environmental group called The Western Way, penned an opinion piece denouncing a B次元官网网址減oorly draftedB次元官网网址� scheme that would B次元官网网址渉obbleB次元官网网址� the stateB次元官网网址檚 EV ambitions.

Sanders, for his part, is taking little comfort in the fact that BidenB次元官网网址檚 Build Back Better bill, the $1.75-trillion climate and social spending package containing the tax credits, suffered a setback before Christmas when renegade Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin declared he would not support it.

B次元官网网址淲hat you learn early on is nothingB次元官网网址檚 ever dead,B次元官网网址� Sanders, himself a veteran of public-policy debates within government at the state-legislature level, said in an interview.

B次元官网网址淚f we can bring in Canada into this, obviously our friends from Mexico and then our congressional delegation, that starts to at least raise the concern that we have that this isnB次元官网网址檛 necessarily the right way to go.B次元官网网址�

Along with up-and-coming EV players like Rivian, Nikola and ElectraMecchanica, Arizona is attracting parts and manufacturing service suppliers as well B次元官网网址� including Jomi Engineering Group, based in Barrie, Ont., which by mid-year will have some 120 employees at its new facility in Casa Grande, just south of Phoenix.

B次元官网网址淵ou canB次元官网网址檛 fight it,B次元官网网址� Jomi founder and president Michael Hoy said of the growing EV sectorB次元官网网址檚 gravitational pull towards the southern U.S.

B次元官网网址�(We) couldnB次元官网网址檛 build the Canadian operation any more; we would have probably never had the opportunity as we do, or get competitive enough, if we didnB次元官网网址檛 move closer to our customers.B次元官网网址�

In October, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey was among 11 Republican state governors who wrote to congressional leaders denouncing BidenB次元官网网址檚 plan as an unfair use of taxpayer dollars.

B次元官网网址淲e cannot support any proposal that creates a discriminatory environment in our states by punishing autoworkers and car companies because the workers in their plants chose not to unionize,B次元官网网址� the letter says.

B次元官网网址淐ongress should not enact proposals that favour vehicles produced by one workforce over another, particularly when doing so dramatically limits consumer choice and undermines larger carbon emission reduction goals.B次元官网网址�

In the 50-50 Senate, West VirginiaB次元官网网址檚 Manchin has been the focus of will-he, wonB次元官网网址檛-he speculation about his support for Build Back Better. Less attention has been paid to an equally unpredictable Democratic colleague, Sen. Krysten Sinema, whose moderate-conservative politics nicely encapsulate the purple state she represents: Arizona.

As a right-to-work state B次元官网网址� by law, would-be employees canB次元官网网址檛 be required to join a union B次元官网网址� with a vested interest in a robust and growing EV industry, Arizona is focused only on doing away with the $4,500 portion of the tax credits that are focused on American-assembled, union-built vehicles.

B次元官网网址淭hat should make them almost the optimum ally,B次元官网网址� said Roy Norton, a former senior diplomat who did two stints at the Canadian Embassy in the 1990s and 2000s before becoming diplomat-in-residence at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Ont.

B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 want to kill subsidies. We just want to kill subsidies for U.S.-made vehicles exclusively, and Arizona should be precisely on the same page in as much as itB次元官网网址檚 a right-to-work state thatB次元官网网址檚 at odds with a president and an administration that is a bit of a throwback.B次元官网网址�

Officials in Ottawa confirm that ArizonaB次元官网网址檚 congressional delegation, and SinemaB次元官网网址檚 office in particular, continue to be a focus of the federal governmentB次元官网网址檚 lobbying efforts, which peaked late last year with D.C. visits by multiple emissaries, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Biden, however, makes no secret of his affinity for blue-collar union workers, nor his ultimate goal of restoring the former lustre of the once-mighty U.S. manufacturing sector. Both, along with reducing carbon emissions, are the principal goals of a tax credit scheme the White House says is close to his heart.

Though he didnB次元官网网址檛 mention EV tax credits specifically, Biden himself signalled strongly Friday that he hasnB次元官网网址檛 given up on the Build Back Better bill, which is likely to return to the fore at some point in the coming weeks or months.

Whether it will continue to include the tax credits, or if the EV vision emerges in a different form, remains an open question.

Responding to the latest jobs report in the U.S., the president reiterated Friday his vision of a resurgent American manufacturing sector, fuelled by an economy that grows B次元官网网址渇rom the bottom up and the middle out.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淔rom Day 1, my economic agenda has been different. ItB次元官网网址檚 about taking a fundamentally new approach to our economy B次元官网网址� one that sees the prosperity of working families as a solution, not the problem,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 make what weB次元官网网址檙e selling in America made in America, so weB次元官网网址檙e not at risk of foreign supply chains and shipping delays.B次元官网网址�

James McCarten, The Canadian Press

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