MNI BRIEF: China Urges Canada To Drop Additional EV Tariffs

MNI (BEIJING) - Beijing has urged Canada to reverse its decision to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, stressing it will take all necessary measures to defend its interests, according to a spokesman at the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday.

The hikes, which also include a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum from China, will disrupt global supply chains and severely impact Sino-Canada economic and trade relations, the spokesman said, describing the act as typical protectionism “blindly following individual countries”.

China’s EV industry is based on its own comparative advantages and is a result of open competition, the spokesman added.

U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will stay high and probably move even higher regardless of the outcome of elections this year, a former U.S. official told MNI earlier. (See MNI EM INTERVIEW: US Seen Holding China Tariffs High- Ex-Official)