Photo: BYD electric vehicles waiting to be loaded at the port. \AFP

[Ta Kung Pao]According to Bloomberg: People familiar with the matter revealed that the Canadian government is preparing to follow the footsteps of the United States and the European Union and impose new tariffs on electric vehicles made in China.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on the 20th that he had “important conversations” with other leaders at the G7 summit in Italy last week on China’s production capacity. Canada currently imposes a 6% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles, but purchases of these vehicles are eligible for a federal rebate of up to $5,000 for electric vehicles.

On May 14, the US government announced that it would increase tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles by nearly four times, with the final rate reaching about 100%. Last week, the European Union decided to increase tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, adding punitive tariffs ranging from 17.4% to 38.1% on top of the original 10% tariff.

According to Statistics Canada, the value of China’s electric vehicles imported into Canada rose from less than C$100 million in 2022 to C$2.2 billion last year, making China the second largest source of vehicle imports after the United States.

China’s Foreign Ministry said earlier this month that the United States’ discriminatory practices against Chinese electric vehicles violated WTO rules, undermined the stability of the global production and supply chain, and would ultimately harm the United States’ own interests.

China urges the US to earnestly abide by market principles and international trade rules and create a good environment for fair competition for enterprises from all countries. China will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.