'Fix this mess': Ontario premier warns of job loss, economic damage
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is railing against Canada’s new deal with China that will see up to 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles allowed into the country at a tariff rate of 6.1 per cent.
Ford argues that by lowering tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, “this lopsided deal risks closing the door on Canadian automakers to the American market, our largest export destination, which would hurt our economy and lead to job losses,” according to the National Post.
The premier says that “to fix this mess, Prime Minister Carney and the federal government need to urgently step up and support Ontario’s auto sector.”
Ford warns that granting Chinese EV makers access to Canada at lower tariffs could undermine Canadian-made vehicles’ access to the U.S., “our largest export destination,” according to the National Post.
He also maintains that EV tariffs should stay in place unless China opens an electric-vehicle plant in Ontario and hires unionized Canadian workers, according to CBC News.
Ford argues that maintaining high tariffs on Chinese EVs protects 157,000 jobs tied to Canada’s EV and battery supply chain and safeguards tens of billions of dollars in public investment, according to earlier reporting by CBC News on his defence of the 100 per cent tariff.
Details of deal with China
The federal deal will allow up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into Canada each year at a 6.1 per cent tariff in exchange for lower duties on Canadian canola and other agricultural products. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada has agreed to let “tens of thousands of Chinese electric vehicles” into the country at a lower tariff rate in return for reduced tariffs on canola, lobsters, crabs and peas.
Carney says that this EV import quota will represent about three per cent of the domestic EV market and will make some electric vehicles more affordable for Canadians.
The federal government also says China is a “$4-billion canola seed market for Canadian producers,” and that lowering tariffs on Canadian canola seed to about 15 per cent from roughly 85 per cent represents a significant drop in trade barriers.
The Prime Minister’s Office also says the canola and agri-food concessions are expected to help “unlock nearly $3 billion in export orders for Canadian workers and businesses” as they expand in China’s 1.4‑billion‑person market. The federal government has also set what it calls an “ambitious goal” of increasing exports to China by 50 per cent by 2030, and is looking to expand two-way investment in clean energy and technology, agri-food, wood products and other sectors, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
