The President and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association says tariffs introduced on Chinese-made electric vehicles is a welcomed step.
Brian Kingston is reacting to the news announced on Monday by the federal government that Canada will impose a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles, along with 25 per cent tariffs on aluminum and steel.
He says this tariff not only allows Canadian manufacturers to have more time to start producing EVs, but it also shows a strong partnership between Canada and the United States.
This move made in Canada follows the announcement in May by U.S. President Joe Biden - who quadrupled the U.S. import tariff on Chinese-made EVs to 100 per cent as well.
This comes as Canada works to build their own EV plants in the country, including the NextStar Energy electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, and the Volkswagen EV battery plant site in St. Thomas.
He says this is a welcomed step for the country after working hard on these investments.
"We need to give manufacturers time to allow these investments to come to fruition. You can see the construction taking place right now in places like Windsor where plants are being built and retooled as we transition to electrification. But you need more time to allow these facilities to reach economies of scale, and start to produce for North America."
Kingston says Canada has to be aligned with America.
"The U.S. is taking a different approach on this, they see what China is doing as a problem for their economy and for their automotive industry, they're moving ahead with tariffs. We simply cannot be out of line with our strongest partner, our strongest ally, and the country with which we have a totally integrated automotive industry with."
He adds that Canada has invested heavily into this new supply chain.
"Canada is so well-positioned. We have critical minerals, we have auto manufacturers who have been building vehicles in this country for decades. All the ingredients are here for Canada to be a player in this emerging EV industry. If you suddenly allow another country with highly subsidized vehicles to come into the market, that could undermine all of this hard work."
Kingston says that there is the chance of retaliation from China following this announcement, but he adds that there is a broader risk of not having a trade relationship with Canada's biggest trading partner - the U.S.
China has used Canadian agriculture products for retaliation before, including canola and meat, but has yet to make a statement about the Canadian tariffs introduced on Monday.
Locally, NextStar aims to have an annual production capacity of 49.5 gigawatt-hours, creating more than 2,500 new jobs.
Full-scale production of battery modules is set to begin early this fall, with cell manufacturing slated for launch in 2025.
-with files from AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides and The Canadian Press
