Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his trade and industry ministers say Canada is investigating the notion of hiking tariffs on imported electric vehicles from China following a massive tax hike by the Americans earlier this month.
Chinese brands are not a major player in Canada91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s EV market but imports from China have exploded in the last year as Tesla switched from U.S. factories for its Canadian sales to it91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s manufacturing plant in Shanghai.
In 2022 Canada trade data shows $84 million in imports of electric-only vehicles from China and in 2023 that soared to $2.2 billion.
President Joe Biden is quadrupling import taxes on Chinese-made EVs to 100 per cent this year because of what he called unfair subsidies for Chinese EV makers by the Chinese government.
Last fall the European Commission launched a study of unfair trade practices by China as Chinese-made EVs rapidly increased market share across Europe.
Currently, Chinese brands of EVs are not available for sale in Canada but China91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s automakers are eyeing the North American market.
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The Canadian Press