Canada’s government on Monday announced it is imposing a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles that matches U.S. tariffs and follows similar plans announced by the European Commission.
The announcement followed encouragement by U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and cabinet ministers on Sunday. Sullivan is set to make his first visit to Beijing on Tuesday.
Trudeau said Canada also will impose a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum.
“Actors like China have chosen to give themselves an unfair advantage in the global marketplace,” he said.
THERE IS NO AFFORDABLE ELECTRIC CAR IN CANADA The cheapest electric cars in Canada are ~$40k whereas the cheapest ICE cars are $25K. As much as China is a huge economic problem for the world in general the burden should be on the ruling class who created this problem not the people on the bottom.
A better response would be to stop subsidizing oil and put those billions into the development of affordable electric cars for the North American market. A sedan, minivan, crossover and compact pickup that are under $40k to totally pull the rug out from under Chinese competition. I don’t know anyone who would take a Chinese car even if it was 1/3 the price, they burned their reputation for safety years ago.
edit: a letter
I’m all for a tarrif on imported EVs if we start making affordable domestic ones. Between the carbon tax, affordability crisis,and Canada’s goal of getting rid of ICE, we aren’t helping Canadians by imposing this tarrif. This is clearly pandering to american auto manufacturers who have no interest in competing in the market, instead they beg governments to ban or tax their competition to keep the “free market” healthy.
The plutocrats only want a free market when it serves their immediate interests. Default on their loans? They lobby for a bailout funded by taxpayers, of course. Can’t compete with another country and keep their profit margins high enough to their investors’ liking, they cry for regulation like this right here. The interests of working Canadians are perpetually sacrificed for the plutocrats - grocery, telecomm, oil and gas, real estate/housing, now this
I disagree with the idea there are no affordable EVs in Canada, based on the numbers and purchasing habits of new car buyers anyway. If the average price of a new vehicle in Canada is $66,8XX , and EVs can be had for below that, then for the new car buying market the EVs are affordable, but just not what people want to buy (for whatever reason).
For me, I traded my ICE vehicle for an EV in 2019 and I save money every single month when you add the financing to the price of gas I used to buy. I traded a Mazda 3 Sport for a Chevy Bolt EV, and even though the Mazda was about $15,000 cheaper, and even though it got about 7.7 l/100km real world fuel economy, it is cheaper to drive the EV because ICE operating costs are so much higher.
I was in the market for a second used EV as well, and there are right now recent year model EVs in the mid 20/low 30s for sale. Now these are not large vehicles, but they are affordable especially after operating costs are included. The prices for the most affordable new and used EVs right now are actually at or around the average price for a new and used vehicle in 2019.
I think though, what is really going on with new car buyers, is that people compare a Fiat 500e, or a Chevy Bolt EV, or another small EV, to larger ICE vehicles costing $10 or $15 thousand dollars less and then conflate their desire for the larger vehicle with affordability. The EV is not affordable because I must have a certain ride height, or certain features. They want the larger vehicle, the larger vehicle is cheaper out the door, therefore the EV is not affordable. This is a calculation done without considering fuel economy, changing fuel prices. In reality, they could afford it, just through the shifting of operating costs onto capital costs, but they don’t want it.
I generally agree with you on oil subsidies though.
Just because a car is cheaper than the average new car doesn’t make it affordable. Lots of people can only afford used cars. I’m not suggesting we need new EVs to compete with used car prices, but we need the prices to come down so that the prices of current used EVs become more affordable and/or these cheaper new EVs become affordable when they’re resold in several years.
You make some good points but I don’t agree with them all. I wouldn’t even call a 30k vehicle “affordable”. Also due to the lifestyle some have, it’s not possible to get the smallest vehicle possible. Now you’re looking at 80k+ for one.
The only reason they’re cheap is because of government subsidies back in China and the goal is to eliminate the competition so they can then raise their price and make us dependent on them even more than we already are.
The only reason gasoline cars are “cheap” in Canada are the billions in subsidies that go to petro corps. Canada is playing the same game and China but both countries are fucking Canadians.
Fucking Canadians by creating jobs in Canada instead of letting Chinese workers replace workers in Canada? Welcome to geopolitics! I bet you’re against globalization but since it affects your pockets you’re able to twist your mind in a way that it makes sense to you.
I suggest you look up how many billions the federal government has given to EV battery plants in Canada
So? We’re protecting our own industry
You guys would prefer to see us lose all expertise and have everything made in China and imported to Canada instead? When you lose your job don’t come crying.
The Big Three - With the help of governments we will create EVs for North America that will help reduce carbon levels.
China - financially supports the development of cheap EVs it wants to ship worldwide.
The Big Three - No not like that!!!
Edit - To all those downvoting, how many times have we bailed out or given loans/grants to the Big Three?
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1979 - Dec. 21- Chrysler receives a $1.5 billion federal loan guarantee, known as the Chrysler Loan Guarantee Act of 1979, the first big US automaker bailout. Source
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Dec 2008 - President Bush announces a $13.4 billion emergency bailout for GM and Chrysler to be paid by mid-January 2009. (source same as above)
2018 - Liberal government writes off 2009 $1.1B US loan to Chrysler, plus interest, docs show Source
- 2023 - Auto industry’s switch to EVs gets $12 billion in loans and grants from the US Energy Department Source
2024 - Canada’s PBO estimates total corresponding government support (for EV capital and operating expenses) to be up to $52.5 billion Source
Funny you’re being downvoted. Apparently the government sending billions in subsidies to companies that offshore most manufacturing to China anyway is the free market. But China doing the same thing isn’t.
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Nothing shows true commitment to fighting climate change like blocking affordable EVs and solar panels… and continuing to build pipelines and persecute land defenders.
I just want an EV under $30k, why does the Canadian government hate me?
Cause your not rich?
I mean, you’re not wrong.
Buy a bicycle
I wish we did things for own reasons instead of just doing whatever the US told us to do.
I get what you’re saying, but the only way to get there is to heavily expand our population so our sphere of influence becomes significant enough that we can exert some control of a situation.
We barely extract the resources we have aside from oil, our population is miniscule, we spend all our money on housing, we stagnate wages, barely manufacture anything and brain drain talent to the US due to lack of wages/opportunities.
Until we reach a critical mass of population and are able to mine + manufacture our resources and establish some form of market specialization, we will remain insignificant on the global scale.
Yet we call ourselves a g7 nation
The reason why it’s logical to do it in the US is the same as why it’s logical to do it in Canada
This is why the NDP should be in charge. They’re already used to taking directions from Trudeau.
/s
That’ll help prices remain competitive…Right?
It will help keep prices competitive in the long term. Chinese EV makers aren’t competing in a free market as they are heavily subsidized by the government. It’s no different from what Silicon Valley VCs do, pump loads of capital into a new industry so that it’s difficult for any competitors to emerge. Once a company has a monopoly on a market innovation suffers, products stagnate or actively get worse, prices increase with a lack of competition, and the consumer suffers. In the case of EVs, there is the added issue of manufacturing capacity which is important for security. While I would love a cheap new EV now, I would prefer for my children to have sustainable cheap EVs in the future.
My issue is more along the lines of our government making policies like these while refusing to enact policies to help with the overall cost of living. You’re not wrong about what the Chinese subsidies and I know one can say “Well you can focus on both”. It’s just that I see more of a focus on the one issue and not both. So when they take something affordable, jack up the price, and do nothing to help with the overall affordability in our day to day lives; I just feel like that’s a slap in the face.
The majority of the cost of living stuff needs to be solved at the provincial and municipal level, you should learn about the different powers each level has.
I did. I also know that a lot of the major changes done by the provincial and municipal governments come from federal funding.
I know premiers like Doug Ford are just as responsible for this predicament, if not even more. I’m just saying the federal government can do more than it currently is.
Not without infringing on provincial and municipal powers and you shouldn’t be in favor of that because the closer a government is to you the more power you have over it.
I’m not saying they step in and do it for them. I’m saying they help fund it. Provincial funding is limited. For big projects, it almost always includes federal funding.
Funding it is overstepping, if the federal government has enough money to fund things that fall under provincial jurisdiction it only means you’re paying too much federal taxes.
“China isn’t operating as a free market like we do, this is just like what silicon valley does in our free market”
That’s a strawman. I never said the US was operating in a completely free market, I used the VC example because it’s relatable. We all remember when Uber and Amazon were cheap and we were told that these new cheap prices were the new norm. Then the VC capital ran out in the case of Uber and the online market was monopolized in the case of Amazon and the prices are now higher because existing competition was destroyed.
Silicon Valley which is also heavily subsidized by the US government.
So what is stopping canada from subsidizing our own cheap EVs?
Oil companies and the ICE manufacturers that rely on them.
Changing production lines to EVs is expensive, and they want profits now. Not later. Line must go UP
We are.
Canada’s PBO estimates total corresponding government support (for EV capital and operating expenses) to be up to $52.5 billion Source
Don’t forget the 100% tariff on Chinese solar panels that’s been around for years, because we have so much choice for locally made solar panels.
What fucking bullshit. So we end up paying for them to ship them via SE Asia, get a COO certificate, and then ship to us, usually via the US. Damn near doubles the cost anyway.
“But everyone has to do their part for climate change”. Fucking hypocrites.
This is just silly.
We should have a 100% tariff on everything that’s made in China, not just EVs
My hope: increased costs make people demand domestic manufacturing, companies and governments actually listen and decide import costs aren’t worth it and move all manufacturing back inside their own borders.
Politicians like to bullshit about “job creation” all day, but this, massively expanding domestic manufacturing capabilities, would create more jobs than any program put out since WWII.
What is currently the lowest priced EV in Canada?
LMAO well at least it seats two.
An e-bike probably.
In seriousness, you’re not going to get a very valuable answer with such a broad question. They can be quite cheap, but have little range. Elaborating on what you’d want in an EV would help people provide better answers.
That’s a very valid point.
For an average vehicle I was thinking either a midsize sedan or SUV that seats up to 5.
Here’s an article that’s probably most helpful. Looks like the stated prices are for base models.
We have an Ioniq 5, paid $62,000 after tax, with federal rebate, and upgrades (winter tiers, extended range (520 km), floor mats, etc.). I would not consider EVs in Canada to be cheap by any standard. The base models tend to have poor range for anything more than light city driving.
For cars, Chevrolet Bolt, 40k before incentives.
Cars suck either ways. The less new cars on the road, the better it is.
Until transit becomes reasonable to use (outside of the 5 biggest cities) cars aren’t going anywhere, no matter how much we might want a less car-centric society.
Having an increasing percentage of cars be less bad is a worthy interim step, while at the same time trying to improve the practicality of other means of getting to where you need to go.
Until transit becomes reasonable to use
Exactly. I’ve lived all over Canada and transit is shit almost everwhere, likely due to the fact most city halls seem to think public transit should be a for-profit enterprise vs a provided service to all residents.
There’s also the whole urban sprawl debacle. :/
Missed opportunity to import change chinese ev’s. add 50% and send them to us
