Canada is following in the footsteps of the United States and the European Union in imposing 100% tariffs on the import of Chinese electric vehicles. The nation has also announced a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminium from China. This duty applies to all EVs (Electrical Vehicles) shipped from Chinese manufacturers, including Tesla, an american multinational automotive and clean energy company. Tariffs will be introduced from October 1, 2024.
The stocks and shares of global automobile manufacturers have closed down to 3.2% due to this strategic move. Canadian imports of automobiles from China to its largest port, Vancouver, jumped to 460% year over year; further, Tesla started shipping Shanghai-made EVs to Canada. On the other side, the Chinese embassy in Canada has raised dissatisfaction and called this move a ‘protectionist’ and a ‘politically dominant act’; additionally, it reveals that Canada has also ignored World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.
Officials stated that this action would undermine and affect economic and trade cooperation between the two nations, and this might also hurt the sentiments of Canadian consumers and enterprises.
China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner, following the (United States) USA. One of the spokespersons stated, “China urges Canada to respect objective facts, abide by WTO rules, immediately correct its erroneous practices, and refrain from politicizing economic and trade issues.”
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However, Tesla has not formally disclosed its Chinese exports to Canada; a few vehicle identification codes have shown that a few Tesla models, like Model Y crossovers and Model 3 compact sedans, have been exported from Shanghai to Canada. So, it would be challenging for both the nations to resolve the conflict of tariffs imposed and back further trading roadblocks along with logistics shifts.
