Canada to suffer Chinese retaliation over EV tariffs

Significance

The moves mirror those taken earlier by Washington and take effect next month. Beijing has filed a complaint with the WTO and retaliated by opening an anti-dumping probe into Canada’s exports of canola oil to China, worth USD5bn last year.

Impacts

• The tariffs will remain in place for at least the medium term as part of a general North American trend of using trade barriers.
• Tensions are likely between Eastern Canada, where the auto industry is based, and the prairie provinces where canola is grown.
• The Canada-China relationship is likely to deteriorate further under a Conservative government in Ottawa.
• Worsening Canada-China relations may spur renewed investment in the critical mineral mining sector in Canada’s north.