Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says the new deal to import up to 70,000 new electric vehicles from China doesn’t change the terms of terms of the USMCA free trade deal with the U.S.
Carney attempted to calm the trade waters between the two countries Sunday after President Donald Trump threated to slap Canada with a 100 percent tariff, if it completed a deal with China that would allow the country to import electric vehicles into Canada for sale.
Canadian officials reached a new agreement with China that would allow for 49,000 EVs to be imported and sold in Canada, with the total rising to 70,000 during the next five years. The deal called for tariffs on those vehicles to be lowered from 100 percent to just 6.1 percent.
Trump’s response to the announcement was swift and predictable.
“If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken,” Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday.
What’s the deal
Speaking to the media Sunday, Carney noted the deal with China does not violate the terms of the current free trade agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. He added there are no plans to enter into a free trade agreement on the order of USMCA.
Notably, Mexico imports cars from China. MG Motor, JAC Motors, BYD, and others sell a variety vehicles in Mexico; however, Trump hasn’t yet threated Mexico with a special tariff due to its importation cars from China.
Canada and China reached a tentative deal Jan. 16 to lower tariffs on some goods — including EVs from China — exchanged between the two countries. Canadians bought about 1.8 million EVs last year so the total from China would account for less than 3 percent of all EV sales.
[Images: FotoField/Shutterstock.com, Lucas Parker/Shutterstock.com]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
