The Chinese government promised a 100 per cent levy on Canadian canola oil and meal, plus a 25 per cent duty on seafood and pork. Those tariffs on Canadian goods imported to China kick in on Thursday.
As the tariffs take effect, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe called on the federal government to remove its levies on electric vehicles amid fears that his province could face job losses and face the brunt of the blowback.
Moe pointedly called it “a Western Canadian expense at the benefit of a non-existent EV auto industry in Eastern Canada.”
Faced with calls to rethink the tariffs, Ford’s office said the premier continues to back the tax on Chinese-made vehicles.
Western Canadian here (BC) – I agree with Moe on this one.
Tariffs on them imply they’re still generally safe to use / drive – it’s not a ‘ban’ after all, for being unfit for the road or a security risk. Tariffs make sense to some degree if/when there’s a local industry you’re protecting, especially if/when the good is a luxury.
In the case of EVs though, getting off of gas is a priority in terms of reducing emissions / combating climate change – it’s not so much a luxury even, given how many of our cities are designed for car-oriented travel. I’d rather we had $20k EV options from BYD, rather than we continued to push gas cars and/or EVs that are in the $40-50k from US manufacturers, as it’d mean faster adoption of EVs and faster exit from gas cars. We have literally had multiple cities burn to the ground due to climate change lately. You’d think we’d be above political nonsense on this subject.
Might be time to warm up to china a little. USA is clearly not a partner anymore and honestly really an enemy at this point. China sucks but at least they’re predictive. They don’t pull backhanded bullshit like the US do. They do it openly for everyone to see. So it’s easier to deal with.
Why would we warm up to a country thatt behaves like china because the US is getting worse?
Because just like Europe, you need a new partner to replace the USA. I hate china as much as the next guy. And we mustn’t ever become dependent on them like we did with USA (I’m in Europe, so… u know). But we need some form of replacement.
Or… I mean I’m not an expert. Maybe we don’t need anyone else? Just EU, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, Japan? I wouldn’t be opposed to that but idk if that would be sufficient.
And because I’m petty, I hope we exclude Switzerland from that alliance/partnership. They can suck a fat one after causing probably thousands of Ukrainian deaths by blocking arms deliveries.
Just temporary untill we find other partners replacing our need for chinese products
If we keep China out, fine. There are certainly reasons enough. But that had better come with a real push for domestic EV manufacturing. ICE vehicle’s days are numbered outside pleasure/luxury use-cases, and it’s ridiculous to be importing the majority of such massive, heavy, and complex devices on which a majority of Canadians rely to at least some degree.
If things are going to be expensive either way, let me pay to support high-end Canadian jobs rather than cover shipping costs.
No. They are reported to be of poor quality. This would allow China a greater foothold in our country. People may recall that they’ve been setting up “police stations” on our soil. I’ve looked at pics of the cars, and for myself, I would want a little more ground clearance to pull out of the driveway when snow plows haven’t arrived yet.
I watched a teardown of a BYD at Munro Live and they were actually surprised at the quality and amount of material they used at various places. I recall them saying a few times something to the tune of “We’d never do this, it’s too expensive.”
BTW, my job would be at risk if we let them in so when I say positive things about Chinese EVs, I’m dissociating from the potential personal cost.
Oof, this fight was inevitable wasn’t it. I’m not one to take much of what Moe says seriously, but he makes a somewhat legitimate point. We don’t make any significant EVs in Ontario today. If we let BYD in, they won’t compete with Ontario-made EVs. The Ford Mach-e is Mexican. I think the Chevy EVs are made in the US. I think Hyundai/Kia are also imports.
On the other hand they’re likely to compete with gas powered vehicles that we very much make here. Then there’s the battery plants we are trying to build which is a part of future EV manufacturing strategy. Having BYD imports puts all that at risk.
Unless the US kills our auto sector by not carving it out of the incoming tariffs, we probably won’t let Chinese EVs in.
With that said, there’s perhaps an opening for reducing the tariffs so that Chinese EVs are cheaper than Tesla, but don’t threaten much of the gas vehicle production.
