Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, announced on Wednesday that Canada would be imposing a 100 percent tariff on electric vehicles made in China. The move follows tariffs imposed against Chinese E.V.s by the European Union and the United States, which have also tried to protect their domestic auto industries from competition.
The tariff, which will go into effect in October, is the latest escalation in the trade war between Western economies and China. American, European and Canadian critics say it is impossible for their car companies to compete with Chinese imports because China’s government has heavily subsidized the domestic production of E.V.s.
That has given Chinese companies an advantage in Western markets, where they can sell their vehicles at a much lower cost than those countries’ manufacturers can. Automakers and the union that represents Canadian auto workers had lobbied the government to match American tariffs on Chinese E.V.s, which will go into effect by the end of this month.
“I think we all know that China is not playing by the same rules,” Mr. Trudeau said on Monday. “What is important about this is we’re doing it in alignment and in parallel with other economies around the world.”
But some groups say the tariffs are hampering the widespread adoption of emission-free vehicles, a critical element of the clean energy transition, by taking away cheap E.V.s for consumers.
“Canada made a decision today that will result in fewer affordable electric vehicles for Canadians, less competition and more climate pollution,” Joanna Kyriazis, the director of public affairs at the clean energy policy research group Clean Energy Canada, said on Monday.
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