OTTAWA — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is expected to announce this morning a plan for potential tariffs to protect Canada's electric vehicle supply chain from unfair Chinese competition.
In 2021, almost 80 per cent of all lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles globally came out of China and the International Energy Agency says almost 60 per cent of global EV sales are now Chinese-made. Biden also announced a hike to tariffs on lithium-ion batteries and some other clean energy products including solar cells.
Chinese-branded EVs now make up eight per cent of the European market, compared with one per cent in 2019. Europe says its preliminary findings confirmed Chinese EVs are benefiting from "unfair subsidization."Where Canada lands on tariffs will depend on the consultation process.
"The status is that we are working on it, and I’ve been very clear about this," she said. "This issue is one that we’re concerned about."Typically the process for launching an anti-subsidy investigation starts with a complaint from the industry.Since 2020, Canada has attracted more than $46 billion in investments for 13 electric vehicle, battery and battery component manufacturing projects.