Canada Opens Up To China's EVs: Motivated By The Long Term, Not Tariffs - CleanTechnica

Canada is set to significantly reduce tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs), cutting them from a prohibitive 100% to 6.1%, under a framework that includes volume caps and ties the change to broader efforts to normalize trade relations with China. This shift comes amid pressure from China’s automobile industry and reflects a broader recalibration of Canada-China economic ties, influenced by trade imbalances such as China’s retaliatory tariffs on Canadian canola oil. The move is not primarily an endorsement of Chinese EVs but an acknowledgment that maintaining strict exclusionary policies carried increasing economic and political costs. China’s EV industry now dominates global battery-electric vehicle sales, producing at a scale designed for a global market that is electrifying more slowly than China itself. Canada’s previous high tariffs effectively excluded Canadian consumers and policymakers from this fast-evolving EV ecosystem. Unlike the U.S., which maintains stricter barriers citing national security, Canada’s quota-and-tariff approach preserves flexibility and aligns with broader North American industrial