WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 29: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing an executive order dealing with automobile repairs in the Oval Office at the White House on June 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump followed up the signing by answering questions about the SAVE America Act. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) - Alex Wong/Getty ImagesHappy Tuesday! It's June 30, 2026, and this is The Morning Shift — your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you'll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.In this morning's edition, we're looking at edits to the USMCA North American trade deal, as well as cost-cutting moves from BMW and Ferrari. We'll also look at Stellantis' planned Fiat 500 output, and automakers doing their best to get rid of touchscreens.Read more: The Ten Dumbest Automotive Design Mistakes1st Gear: The USMCA agreement is up for renegotiation, and Trump wants more American-made car partsWASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 29: U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters after signing an executive order dealing with automobile repairs with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in the Oval Office at the White House on June 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump followed up the signing by answering questions about the SAVE America Act. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) - Alex Wong/Getty ImagesBack in his first term, Trump tore down the North American Free Trade Agreement to replace is with something largely identical. Now he's working on almost the same thing again, but with a different name and new limits for cars. From Automotive News:Formal negotiations among the United States, Mexico and Canada will kick off July 1 as the three countries begin a first-of-its-kind review of the North American trade pact underpinning regional automotive trade.This year's mandatory United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement review will begin with a virtual meeting among trade representatives from the three countries. They're tasked with determining whether to extend the USMCA, set to expire in 2036, and what changes they could make to the pact, which went into effect in 2020.The U.S. is pursuing major changes to the agreement, including much stricter content requirements for vehicles made in North America. Negotiations could drag on for months, casting a cloud of uncertainty over long-term trade rules in the region.This is definitely good and normal and a productive use of everyone's time and not dumb. It's all of those things. 2nd Gear: Luxury automakers are joining bargain-bin OEMs in abandoning copper wiresSeattle, WA, USAMarch 4, 2026BMW M3 and X5 driving on the street - Brandon Woyshnis/Getty ImagesBudget automakers like Tesla have been using aluminum wire for a while now, but now the big kids are getting involved. Specifically, big kids like Italy and Germany. From Reuters:LONDON/SHANGHAI/BEIJING/DETROIT, June 30 (Reuters) – Ferrari and BMW are rolling out new models featuring lightweight, cost-effective aluminium wiring, accelerating a shift away from copper, the dominant material in electric wiring since the invention of the electric battery two centuries ago.The decisions follow similar moves by Tesla and Chinese EV makers and reflect a broader industry trend forecast to affect around 2% of global copper demand this year, according to JPMorgan.Stay up to date with the latest news, trends and innovations that are driving the global automotive industry with the Reuters Auto File newsletter. Sign up here. Even more copper could be switched to aluminium in the coming years because of a structural rise in copper prices, driven by shortages of the metal and with increased demand from the green-energy sector and data centres.AdvertisementAdvertisementReplacing high-conductivity metals with worse conductors isn't generally a good move, so it'll be interesting to see what comes out from these plants after this change. The economy takes everything good from us all, doesn't it?3rd Gear: Stellantis is making even fewer Fiat 500sBRUSSELS, BELGIUM - JANUARY 10: Fiat 500 Giorgio Armani edition compact hatchback car on display at the AutoSalon on January 10, 2025 in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo by Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images) - Sjoerd Van Der Wal/Getty ImagesThe Fiat 500! Look at that happy little guy. Unfortunately, his production is on pause, and will be for some time. From Reuters:Stellantis (STLAM.MI), opens new tab has added an extra week of summer downtime at its Fiat 500 factory in Turin, northern Italy, due to parts shortages from some suppliers, the FIM Cisl trade union said on Monday, adding that the stoppage may also reflect weak demand.FIM Cisl said in a statement the automaker had notified it of a stoppage at the Mirafiori factory from July 27 to 31, adding to a previously planned three-week summer downtime that was due to start in August.Stellantis told unions that Mirafiori would halt activities for an extra week this summer due to parts supply shortages including for engines, bumpers and sensors, a company spokesperson confirmed.Extending an existing production break is better than making a new one, but continuing to produce your cars is even better. Is demand for the 500 that low? It's such a happy little guy!4th Gear: Automakers are scrambling to figure out how to replace touchscreens with buttonsPerson's hand interacting with a modern in-car touchscreen display, selecting an option on the control panel for navigation and infotainment features while driving - Dusan Petkovic/ShutterstockFor years now, automakers have been all-in on touchscreen controls. Now, though, consumers are increasingly pushing back in hopes of being able to adjust climate and volume controls without taking their eyes off the road. I, for one, welcome the return of buttons. From Automotive News:LOS ANGELES — Consumer rejection of touchscreen-dominated vehicle interiors is forcing automakers to reverse course on deleting tactile buttons and knobs. It's also affecting how native and third-party infotainment apps are being developed.But the big center console screens represent valuable real estate within a vehicle. App developers are looking to monetize that space while pushing software that sucks up a growing amount of bandwidth. The inconvenient truth: Vehicle occupants could be more comfortable using their smartphones.At the Car App World conference in Los Angeles in May, executives from automakers, hardware developers, app makers and bandwidth providers wrestled to find common ground in delivering the next-generation of telematics experience.Data as far back as 2022 shows consumers are increasingly resistant to removing functional buttons, switches, and knobs, instead requiring tapping a graphical icon — or several — to activate a vehicle system.AdvertisementAdvertisementIt shouldn't be part for automakers to bring back buttons — buttons are certainly better than screens, and I'll welcome any — but it's odd to see just how much work such a change requires. It's not as simple as going back to the prior body style or two. Reverse: I'd try itI bet I could do it.The Fuel UpAAA chart of gas prices - AAADownwards, ever downwards, like the war never happened. Except it did, and it is. On The Radio: SOPHIE - 'Ponyboy'If you think I'm letting you get through pride month without SOPHIE, you're dead wrong. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and add us as a preferred search source on Google.AdvertisementAdvertisementRead the original article on Jalopnik.
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