According to Reuters, on August 1st, the Canadian union Unifor called on the federal government to impose tariffs on all Chinese-made electric vehicles, EV batteries, and other components, aligning with measures already proposed by the United States.
Following the announcements by the U.S. and the EU to levy high tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, Canada initiated a 30-day public consultation period on July 2nd to discuss imposing tariffs on Chinese-made EVs. Currently, Canada is in the final stages of reviewing state subsidies for Chinese automakers, with the public consultation expected to conclude this week, potentially leading to new tariff measures.
The Canadian government stated, "If left unchecked, China's unfair support for its electric vehicle industry could lead to a sharp increase in Canadian imports, adversely affecting planned investments in Canada's EV sector and the transformation of the automotive industry."
On August 1st, Unifor, the largest private sector union in Canada, representing over 300,000 workers, stated that the U.S. and EU have responded proactively to the threats posed by unfairly subsidized Chinese imports, and now it is Canada's turn.
Unifor is calling for additional tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles on top of the existing 100% tariff rate, a 25% surcharge on batteries, and tariffs on imported electric motors and battery materials.
As Canada considers imposing tariffs on Chinese-made EV products, BYD recently met with the Canadian government to discuss potential tariff issues and the company's plans to sell passenger electric vehicles in Canada.
In late July, a public document submitted to the Canadian government revealed that lobbyists representing BYD had registered with the federal and Ontario governments to "advise on matters related to BYD entering the Canadian passenger electric vehicle market, establishing new business operations, and related EV tariff issues."
