U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to do away with Biden-era electric vehicle (EV) subsidies highlights the folly of countries competing over who can offer the most lucrative bribes to manufacturers, and companies making decisions based on the whims of political leaders rather than the demands of the market.

Two years ago, the Americans were looking to attract “green jobs” with the US$369-billion slush fund known as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), European legislators were frantically drafting their own bill to offer competing subsidies and the Trudeau Liberals were furiously inking multi-billion-dollar deals to entice EV battery manufacturers to this country.