Canada imposes 100% tariffs on imports of Chinese-made electric cars

TORONTO (AP) — Canada announced Monday it will impose 100% tariffs on imports of… electric cars made in chinaThe US tariffs are in response to what Western governments say are Chinese subsidies that give their industries an unfair advantage.

The announcement came after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan gave the message during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet ministers on Sunday. Sullivan is making his first visit to Beijing on Tuesday.

Trudeau said Canada would also impose 25% tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. “Entities like China have chosen to give themselves an unfair advantage in the global marketplace,” he added.

There was no immediate reaction from China.

One of the Chinese-made electric cars that Canada is importing is a Tesla, which is built at the company’s Shanghai plant, although the American company could avoid the tariffs by switching to supplying products to Canada from factories in the United States or Germany.

Chinese brands have yet to enter the Canadian market. However, Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD set up a Canadian business entity last spring and has indicated it intends to try to enter the Canadian market as early as next year.

Chinese officials are likely to raise concerns about US Customs Tariffs With Sullivan as Beijing continues to reform its economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. US President Joe Biden in May New, significant tariffs imposed About Chinese electric vehicles, advanced batteries, solar cells, steel, aluminum, medical equipment.

“The United States believes that a united front and a coordinated approach on these issues is in the best interests of all of us,” Sullivan told reporters on Sunday.

Biden said Chinese government subsidies for electric cars and other consumer goods ensure that Chinese companies don’t have to make profits, giving them an unfair advantage in global trade.

Chinese companies can Electric cars sell for at least $12,000China’s solar, steel and aluminum plants have enough capacity to meet most of the world’s demand, and Chinese officials say their production is keeping prices down and helping the transition to a green economy.

“We’re doing this in tandem with other economies around the world who recognize that this is a challenge that we all face,” Trudeau said of the new tariffs. “Unless we all want to have a race to the bottom, we have to rise up.”

Canada will also launch a 30-day consultation on potential tariffs on Chinese batteries, battery parts, semiconductors, base metals, minerals and solar panels, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said.

“China is pursuing a deliberate, state-directed policy of overcapacity and oversupply to cripple our industry,” Freeland said. “We simply will not allow this to happen to our electric vehicle sector, which has shown so much promise.”

The only Chinese electric cars currently imported into Canada are those made by Tesla, which is manufactured at the company’s Shanghai factory.

“Canada had to go along with the American position, when you think about the economic integration that we have with the United States, where more than 75 percent of our exports go to the United States,” said former Canadian ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques.

Canada can expect retaliation from China in other industries, Saint-Jacques said, adding that barley and pork are candidates because the Chinese can source them from other countries.

“China wants to send a message,” he added.

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This story has been corrected to say that Tesla is one of the Chinese-made electric cars being imported into Canada, not the only one.