Canada to impose tariffs on electric cars from China to protect domestic manufacturers. About it with reference to sources writes Bloomberg. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to make an announcement soon.
The government is ready to take this step after the US and the EU and risks receiving retaliatory measures from China.
We are talking about plans to introduce a 100% tax on electric cars from China, as well as a 25% tax on Chinese-made steel and aluminum.
Back in June, Finance Minister Khrystia Freeland announced public consultations on possible measures that would make it more difficult for Chinese companies to sell electric cars on the Canadian market.
The auto industry, she said, “faces unfair competition from China's deliberate government policy of creating excess capacity, which is undermining the competitiveness of Canada's electric vehicle sector.”
Freeland said in an interview with Bloomberg News in July that consultations on tariffs may not only apply to electric cars.
The value of Chinese electric vehicles imported by Canada rose to $1.6 billion last year from less than $72 million in 2022. The number of cars arriving from China at the Port of Vancouver has skyrocketed since Tesla began shipping Model Y cars there from its Shanghai factory.
However, the Canadian government is not most worried about Tesla, but the prospect of cheap cars from Chinese automakers. In July, BYD notified the Canadian government of its intention to enter the country's market.
Canadian steel and aluminum producers have also repeatedly called on the government to limit imports from China.
“China does not play by the rules. The government should have no illusions about this.”– Catherine Cobden, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Association of Steel Producers, told reporters at the beginning of August.