Great. Thank you.
Good morning, Madam Chair and committee members. Thank you for the invitation to take part in your study today on non-tariff barriers in Canada's existing and potential trade agreements. It's a pleasure to be here in person this morning.
The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, or CVMA, is the industry association that represents Canada's leading manufacturers of light and heavy-duty motor vehicles. Our membership includes Ford Motor Company of Canada, General Motors of Canada Company and Stellantis, FCA Canada. In 2022 more than 1.2 million vehicles were produced in Canada. The industry directly employs approximately 136,000 Canadians, with another half a million employed in the aftermarket services and dealership networks.
CVMA members are at the forefront of new automotive investment in Canada. Over the past three years, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have announced over $13.5 billion in investment, which will create 6,000 direct jobs and tens of thousands throughout the auto supply chain. Most of this investment is dedicated to EV assembly and the battery supply chain to serve the North American marketplace.
These investments are all part of an unprecedented technological transformation that's taking place in the industry right now to fight climate change. Automaker investments into electrification are estimated at $1.2 trillion U.S. through 2030.
Due to the highly integrated nature of the North American auto sector, the CVMA and our member companies support policies that align with and enhance North American integration. With over 90% of Canadian production exported to the United States, CUSMA is what underpins the success of this industry. The consistency of automotive regulations across the larger North American market has never been more important than today, when our companies are prioritizing investments of billions of dollars required to fund this shift to EVs, batteries and the associated supply chain.
It's for this reason that our top priorities are ensuring that CUSMA remains in force and every effort is made to align our automotive regulations with the United States. We recommend a number of actions.
First, prepare for the CUSMA review. Business investment thrives on certainty. CUSMA provides companies with the certainty required to invest in Canada knowing that they can access the U.S. market. In 2026 parties to CUSMA must renew the agreement or it will be sunset in 2036, pending an annual review process. A non-renewal would constitute a major non-tariff barrier, as it would remove the certainty required to enable new investment in Canada. We call on the federal government to launch a team Canada approach to building support for renewal of this agreement in 2026. This initiative should include governments at all levels, businesses and Canada’s network of consulates across the U.S.
Second, maintain regulatory alignment with the United States. Canada’s seat at the North American automotive table and the hundreds of thousands of jobs the industry provides depend on continued regulatory alignment of vehicle safety and emissions standards. The federal government is currently advancing a regulated zero-emission vehicle sales mandate that constitutes a significant non-tariff barrier by micromanaging vehicle sales across Canada. This is a direct challenge to Canada’s long-standing integration with the United States through CUSMA and our competitiveness as a zero-emission vehicle manufacturing jurisdiction. I would also note that it's a direct challenge to Canada's recently implemented interprovincial trade agreement, the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, which aims to create a common market across Canada.
Finally, we must ensure reciprocity in all our trade agreements. This will allow domestic companies to receive, on an equivalent basis, the same opportunities to compete fairly in foreign markets as non-Canadian companies have coming into our domestic market. When non-tariff barriers do arise, dispute settlement mechanisms in free trade agreements are an indispensable tool to address them. It's critical that these mechanisms be functional in all our existing trade agreements and future trade agreements that we negotiate.
I look forward to answering any questions.
Thank you again.