Trade Minister Mary Ng and Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne told automakers and suppliers in a roundtable on Thursday that the electric-vehicle tax credits proposed in the Build Back Better bill, which favour U.S. manufacturing, run counter to U.S. trade obligations under the USMCA. The ministers warned that the policy would “harm jobs and workers on both sides of the shared border.” (The Logic)

Talking point: The Liberals’ warnings appear to be growing louder after trilateral talks in Washington earlier this month were unable to secure a carve-out for Canadian manufacturers. A report last month suggested that Canada didn’t want to, but “might have to launch a challenge” through the trade deal, and Ng had previously warned U.S. officials that the credits would lead to tens of thousands of job losses. Champagne and Ng raised the stakes at the roundtable this week, saying the policy could impact hundreds of thousands of jobs. The meeting included representatives from the aluminum and steel industries, business groups, automakers, unions and parts suppliers.