Canada considering tariffs on Chinese-made EVs

Canada said the domestic car sector faced unfair competition from China’s ‘state-directed’ global oversupply of EVs.

Canada is considering whether to impose import tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and will seek the public’s opinion about the idea, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has said.

On Monday, Freeland said the domestic car sector faced unfair competition from what she called China’s “state-directed policy of overcapacity,” and that Ottawa would open a 30-day public consultation period on July 2 as to how Canada can respond.

“Chinese producers are quite intentionally generating a global oversupply that undermines EV producers around the world, including here in Canada,” Freeland told reporters in Vaughan, Ontario, echoing concerns raised by the United States and the European Union.

Freeland said public consultations will help the government decide its policy response, which may include tariffs on imports, adding that the move would align Ottawa with allies in Washington and Brussels.

United States President Joe Biden last month unveiled a bundle of steep tariff increases on an array of Chinese imports, including electric vehicles. The European Commission, which oversees trade policy in the 27-nation, is planning to impose additional duties of up to 38.1 percent on Chinese producers such as BYD, Geely and SAIC, as well as Chinese-built Tesla and BMW cars.