Canada to hit China with tariffs on electric vehicles, aluminum, steel

The federal government is imposing tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles as well as aluminum and steel from China in an effort to protect domestic manufacturing.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in Halifax today that Canada will impose a 100-per-cent tariff on electric vehicles, along with 25 per cent tariffs on aluminum and steel.

Chinese brands are not a major player in Canada’s EV market right now but imports from China have exploded in the last year as Tesla switched from U.S. factories for its Canadian sales to its manufacturing plant in Shanghai.

U.S. President Joe Biden quadrupled the U.S. import tariff on Chinese-made EVs to 100 per cent in May, citing unfair subsidies from the Chinese government to Chinese EV makers.

The U.S. also hiked tariffs on a lengthy list of other Chinese products including solar cells, computer chips, medical equipment and lithium ion batteries.

Trudeau says Canada is looking at further measures, including computer chips and solar cells, to protect Canadian workers from “unfair” non-market practices by China.