It's not totally uncommon for major automakers to buddy up on projects, share their knowledge and try to find ideas that benefit all parties. The latest to snuggle up are GM and Hyundai. Through their collaboration, they hope to improve their competitiveness while trying to reduce the costs and risks involved with developing new tech.

The two companies have signed a non-binding agreement and they'll immediately start assessing joint opportunities and working toward binding agreements. According to GM CEO Mary Barra, the aim "is to unlock the scale and creativity of both companies to deliver even more competitive vehicles to customers faster and more efficiently."

Projects that the two sides are looking at working on together include co-development and production of passenger and commercial vehicles, internal combustion engines and electric and hydrogen clean energy tech. They'll also explore supply chain efficiency — combined sourcing for the likes of battery raw materials and steel could save them both a bundle. GM and Hyundai will look into ways that they can harness their scale and knowhow to do all of this while reducing costs.

It might be a while before we see any fruits of these labors, but it's smart for automakers to team up and try to reduce costs, especially with the EV market being somewhat dicey. Ford's EV division, for instance, is on track to lose around $5 billion this year.

There are other types of partnerships between automakers, of course. In June, Volkswagen and Rivian teamed up, with the former expected to invest $3 billion into the EV company and a further $2 billion on a joint venture between the two sides.

Canadians who have been mulling whether to snap up a Chinese EV may want to make a firm decision on that quickly. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that, starting on October 1, the country will impose a 100 percent tariff on electric vehicles built in China. The White House established an identical levy in the US earlier this year.

The surtax will apply to electric cars, trucks, buses and delivery vans, as well as some hybrid models. Canada will also charge a 25 percent tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum starting on October 15.

According to the CBC, industry players had been pressuring the Canadian government to match the US tariff on Chinese EVs. Trudeau said that Canada is following suit to "level the playing field for Canadian workers" and help the domestic EV industry be more competitive.

"Because of our government's choices and the hard work of hundreds of thousands of Canadian auto workers, we are transforming Canada's automotive sector to be a global leader in building the vehicles of tomorrow," Trudeau said at a press conference. "But actors like China have chosen to give themselves an unfair advantage in the global marketplace, compromising the security of our critical industries and displacing dedicated Canadian auto and metal workers. So, we're taking action to address that."

South Korea is the latest country to support its local semiconductor industry in a significant fashion. It's trying to stay competitive with the likes of the US, China and Taiwan with the help of a 26 trillion won ($19 billion) support package. The country will extend tax breaks that were set to expire at the end of this year and provide financial support to chipmakers through the state-run Korea Development Bank, as The Wall Street Journal reports.

Amid large demand for chips to power AI systems and other computing needs, South Korea saw exports of semiconductors rise 56 percent in April compared with a year earlier. That's despite fierce competition from the likes of Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TMSC). SK Hynix said it would bolster its AI chip manufacturing capacity in South Korea with an extra $14.6 billion investment, while Samsung replaced the leader of its semiconductor division to try and become more competitive.

South Korea's moves could help it keep pace with the US, which has been trying to ramp up domestic chip production to reduce its reliance on imports. Through the CHIPS Act, the US is subsidizing manufacturers such as Intel, GlobalFoundreies and TMSC. As it happens, one of the largest recipients of a CHIPS Act subsidy is Samsung, which is receiving up to $6.4 billion in federal funding for a new semiconductor plant in Texas.