Canada Announces Tariffs on China

On Monday, the government of Canada announced new tariffs on imported goods from China.

Over the past years, many countries across the West have taken actions to distance their economic ties with China due to geopolitical fears and humanitarian disasters under the watch of China. The U.S. imposed an almost full tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles, while the European Commission proposed similar actions for the European Union countries, strong importers of Chinese goods.

However, this initiative for gradual distancing from the Chinese labor market reached a turning point as the large western country of Canada announced an 100% tariff on electric vehicles made in China.

The Canadian government passed this tariff after pressure from U.S national security advisor Jake Sullivan, who met the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and several of Trudeau's cabinet ministers in a meeting encouraging them to proceed with a plan to tax Chinese exports.

Not only an 100% tariff will be made on EVs, but also a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum.

The Canadian market has for decades been supplied by cheaper Chinese automobiles, keeping prices low and consumers satisfied. However, as CCP-linked companies continued to profit off of Canada such as BYD Company and Geely, government officials raised concerns over if they were helping the CCP thrive with money from exports. As a result, Canada made tariffs on Chinese goods while seeking new trade relations with the United States, Europe, India, and many emerging markets neutral or leaning toward the west.

The Canadian government, along with the U.S., feared that a continued trade relationship with China could continue the trend of job steering out of the west to China, harming employment rates for Canadians and Americans.

Chinese officials are quickly responding to these tariffs. Some are organizing a meeting with Jake Sullivan in an attempt to sway the U.S. to improve China's ability to export, and have highlighted how cheaper Chinese-made products could pave the way for a Green Revolution.