On August 29, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai strongly supported Canada’s imposition of 100 percent tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars, as well as 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from China, Reuters reported. This comes after the U.S. imposed similar tariffs on Chinese products.
In a statement released by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Dyche praised Canada for taking “strong action against China’s state-subsidy policies to eliminate the threat of non-market behavior to the auto industry.” Dyche said it was an important step in ensuring a level playing field for Canadian workers and companies in the electric vehicle, steel and aluminum industries. Dyche said, “Like Canada, the U.S. shares concerns about China’s unfair non-market-based policies and practices and is concerned about the failure to uphold labour rights, strengthen environmental protections, and promote fair market-oriented competition.”
Dyche expects the U.S. to announce a final implementation plan for tariffs on $18 billion worth of imports from China by the end of August, including 100 percent tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, 50 percent tariffs on semiconductors and solar cells, and 25 percent tariffs on lithium-ion batteries. Many U.S. companies have called for the tariffs to be mitigated and exemptions to be extended, but a U.S. official told Reuters that the U.S. government is expected to follow the announced tariff plan.
This week, Canada announced that it would begin imposing 100 percent tariffs on all electric vehicle imports from China starting Oct. 1, including those made in China by U.S. automaker Tesla, in response to what Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called China’s “state-subsidy” policy.