Overview
- Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said this week that Canada will press ahead with the January tariff-for-access deal that admits 49,000 Chinese-made EVs in 2026 at about a 6% tariff and raises the quota roughly 6.5% a year to about 67,000 by 2031.
- Joly met executives from BYD, Chery, Geely and Shanghai Launch in China and said those firms signalled they are willing to consider local joint ventures to build EVs in Canada.
- Ottawa has set four binding conditions for any Chinese investment: majority Canadian ownership of joint ventures, adherence to Canadian labour standards, use of Canadian parts, and vehicle software that protects Canadian user data.
- U.S. officials have urged Canada to align external tariffs and tighten rules on connected-car software and origin requirements ahead of USMCA talks, and Tesla is already using the low tariff by shipping Shanghai-built Model 3s into Canada.
- The Carney–China trade-off that opened the quota also secured reduced Chinese duties on Canadian farm and seafood exports, creating tension between protecting agricultural access and defending domestic auto workers and parts suppliers.