E-transfer (Canada):
[email protected] – password RebelNews if required
Cheques made out to Rebel News:
Rebel News Network Ltd.
PO Box 61056 Eglinton/Dufferin RO
Toronto, ON M6E 5B2
With the Trudeau government nearing a decision on taxing Chinese electric vehicles, cabinet amped up rhetoric condemning China for targeting Canadian industry.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, in an interview with Bloomberg, did not mince words opposing China’s “state-directed policy of overcapacity” as part of its centrally planned communist economy. She hinted at expanding trade policy to include tariffs.
The feds July 2 launched a 30-day public consultation on potential policy options to counter Chinese competition in the EV sector. Among those also considered include exclusions from the $5,000 rebates and broader investment restrictions.
“That includes the use of Section 53 [of Custom tariffs law] … It grants very strong and very broad powers to the finance minister to act,” Freeland earlier told reporters. It also permits a surcharge on tariffs.
The only Chinese EVs currently sold in Canada are produced by Tesla Inc., which reported a 9% drop in earnings due to sagging demand for the transportation mode. EV purchases plateaued in the third quarter of 2023, according to Statistics Canada.
The Trudeau government has refused tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports, according to media reports.
MORE: https://t.co/v1swgpFOAD pic.twitter.com/xRQFgycy5P
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) June 27, 2024
China is also a major battery supplier for EVs, as well as battery components globally, accounting for 80% of all lithium-ion EV batteries worldwide in 2021.
Their intentional flooding of the global market with electric vehicles (EVs) hurts Canadian manufacturers and auto workers, undermining their ability to compete in domestic and global markets, Minister Freeland said.
“I see that Leninist precept in Chinese economic policy—of dominating the commanding heights of the global economy and of acting quite intentionally to undermine and cut out Western competitors,” she said. “I think it’s high time for us to be clear-eyed about that.”
Following the Chinese Civil War, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rose to power, implementing a centrally-planned economic system that enforces government control over prices and resource allocation. Control over private enterprises in key industries remained after economic reforms decades later.
“We are living in a world right now where China is taking advantage of the global economic system,” Freeland said. “We know we need to defend our national interest and we will.”
President Joe Biden is set to announce a significant increase in tariffs on various Chinese imports, including electric vehicles, battery components, semiconductors, microchips, and steel and aluminum.
MORE: https://t.co/nQSVjmXRZ7 pic.twitter.com/hY0urlW6Li
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) May 15, 2024
She earlier promised “clear, strong, decisive action” to counter “unfair competition.”
The federal and provincial governments have allocated more than $52 billion in subsidies to ensure EVs are manufactured domestically, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office.
The United States and European Union have responded quickly to the looming threat.
The U.S. will quadruple tariffs on Chinese EVs starting August 1, including Chinese steel and aluminum, semiconductors, solar cells, batteries, and critical minerals.
The European Union imposed provisional tariffs of up to 37.6% on Chinese vehicles earlier this month.