Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his government would be imposing a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicle imports and a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum.
“I think we all know that China is not playing by the same rules,” Trudeau told reporters in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Monday. “What is important about this is we’re doing it in alignment and in parallel with other economies around the world.”
The tariffs will take effect on Oct. 1 2024.
The announcement comes only two weeks after Conservative Leader Poilievre called for them, saying at the time that “Trudeau has failed to protect our workers.”
Poilievre made the comments at a Stelco steel plant in Hamilton, Ont. where he accused China of producing “artificially cheap steel, aluminum and EVs,” saying that the country’s “massively subsidized steel” is made possible by “exploiting weak environmental and labour standards.”
The prime minister responded to Poilievre’s proposal by calling it “baloney” that he would purport to be concerned with protecting auto workers.
“It’s a bit of a joke that Poilievre is suddenly talking about workers in the auto industry. He has said repeatedly that he wouldn’t be making these investments in our auto industry. He’d be cutting our investments in EVs,” Trudeau told reporters on August 15.
Trudeau now appears to be in line with Poilievere’s thinking, however, telling reporters, “I think we all know that China is not playing by the same rules.”
His recent alignment was not lost on Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman, who accused Trudeau of following in Poilievre’s footsteps, adding that the government still has yet to add any tariffs to Chinese semiconductors, critical minerals or any other EV components.
“We said that two weeks ago,” said Lantsman. “He has finally followed. “The prime minister has followed what leader Pierre Poilievre has said a number of weeks ago,”
Trudeau’s announcement also stressed the importance of adhering to its other trading partners in taking a stand against Chinese imports.
“What is important about this is we’re doing it in alignment and in parallel with other economies around the world,” he said.
The U.S. and Mexico have already implemented trade tariffs against China regarding EVs and their byproducts earlier this year.
Additionally, the European Union imposed tariffs of up to 37.6% on EV imports last month.
“The Government of Canada intends to implement a 100% surtax on all Chinese-made EVs, effective October 1, 2024. This includes electric and certain hybrid passenger automobiles, trucks, buses, and delivery vans. This surtax will apply in addition to the Most-Favoured Nation import tariff of 6.1% that currently applies to EVs produced in China and imported into Canada,” said the Department of Finance in a statement.
The federal government also plans to launch a second 30-day consultation concerning other sectors related to the auto industry, including “batteries and battery parts, semiconductors, solar products, and critical minerals.”