Canada’s agriculture minister says any move to relax tariffs on electric vehicles from China would need to account for effects on other industries.
Heath MacDonald says the government hasn’t been directly informed what the Chinese government is seeking, but reducing tariffs on electric vehicles is a possibility under consideration.
Any choice to ease duties on Chinese electric vehicles would have to weigh consequences for other sectors, federal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald said in Winnipeg on Tuesday.
Canada, following the example of the United States, imposed a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles last year and pledged to review the measure within 12 months.
China subsequently placed tariffs on Canadian canola, in what was broadly viewed as a retaliatory step that has harmed Canadian growers.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who is currently in China, and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have urged Ottawa to remove the tariffs.
When asked if Canada might do so, MacDonald said it’s “certainly something that we’re looking at” but warned that other trade issues are being considered. MacDonald did not explicitly reference the United States, which is also a major buyer of Canadian canola and was the first to impose duties on Chinese EVs.
“Every decision that we make as a federal government, we want to make sure we’re not putting at risk a situation that could be even broader,” MacDonald told reporters at the conclusion of a meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts. “And not knowing the exact ask of the Chinese government at this point in time, to speculate on any decisions that we make, and to put that speculation into possible jeopardy of another industry or sector, would be inappropriate.”
Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn said all provinces should be consulted before any potential adjustment to the EV tariffs.
MacDonald said he had not yet been briefed on the Canadian delegation to China. Kody Blois, parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, accompanied Moe on the trade mission.
As part of the meeting in the Manitoba capital, federal and provincial ministers visited farms and heard from growers who said the tariffs on their canola are causing harm.
The canola sector accounts for 200,000 jobs and $43 billion for the economy, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce has said.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a package of trade-related actions, including a $370-million production incentive for the canola industry to help cushion the impact of the Chinese tariffs.
The Canadian Canola Growers Association said the measures do not go far enough and fail to acknowledge the tariffs’ effects on exporters and processors.
MacDonald said Tuesday that everyone’s primary objective is to regain access to the Chinese market, and he echoed Carney’s assurances that additional support could be provided in the interim.
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“We said that it wasn’t the end,” MacDonald said.
During a Tuesday conference in Winnipeg, provincial, territorial and federal agriculture ministers reviewed challenges and potential remedies for Canada’s canola producers, who have been hit with steep tariffs by China.
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