Canada allows Chinese EVs into market

This is big for us, not just for allowing in Chinese cars, effective Mar 1. But also lifting tariffs on Canola and other farm products which was crippling our farmers.
 
brianc35 said:
I worry about privacy and data issues, how knows what's getting sent back from cameras...

/Tinfoil hat

Let's hope quality is better is better than temu products
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I think security and spying is a legitimate issue with those cars, and I wonder how they will resolve that. Having said that we now have all kinds of Chinese drones, dash cams, home security systems, etc, so this is nothing new. Heck, Tik Tok is probably the greatest risk, and it still hasn't been banned.

As for quality and service, time will tell. I hear good reports from some other countries about BYD and others. Will see. They used to say the same thing about Japanese and South Korean imports, and initially that may have been true. But not today, as many people trust Japanese cars over domestic for quality.

Even Trump has said now that he welcomes Chinese cars, IF they build US factories and hire US workers. So I think this door is open now, and our domestic auto manufacturers (and unions) are going to have to step up if they want to compete.

Then I hear about these "dark factories" coming. That is going to be another big game changer.
 
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R P said:
domestic auto manufacturers (and unions) are going to have to step up if they want to compete.
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Rachel Doran, executive director of Clean Energy Canada responded with the best statement I have read so far:
“Not only will this answer the problem of affordability very directly, with more affordable Chinese EVs for sale, but it sends a strong market signal to other automakers: the Canadian market is now competitive, so price your cars accordingly...
This decision will also help lay the foundation to maintain a strong EV Availability Standard in Canada, which will also help drive forward the entire EV market across Canada, drawing in lower-priced models from other manufacturers and ensuring predictability to build out Canada’s charging networks and electricity grid to help fix, once and for all, our broken EV market." ;)
 
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I'm looking forward to visiting Canada to sample some of the Chinese EVs. Given their cold winters, I suspect they will add value to EV performance.

Bob Wilson
 
While Trump may not have reacted negatively at this time, I believe that will be short lived. The US sees China as a major security threat and can't see how they will tolerate their northern neighbour having closer ties with their biggest adversary. A test will be coming shortly with the renegotiation of the USMCA. Will the US offer a carrot with a good deal, or give Canada the stick with more tariffs and other retaliatory measures?
 
R P said:
Will the US offer a carrot with a good deal, or give Canada the stick with more tariffs and other retaliatory measures?
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I believe the answer to this question is obvious from the new tariffs coming for countries not willing to support the surrender of Greenland. The concept of the carrot does not appear to be part of our current admnistration's toolkit.
 
insightman said:
I believe the answer to this question is obvious from the new tariffs coming for countries not willing to support the surrender of Greenland. The concept of the carrot does not appear to be part of our current admnistration's toolkit.
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Yeah, but there might be a difference between not supporting and openly opposing the acquisition of Greenland. Canada might be better off to keep our mouths shut about this.

This might not sound very patriotic (for Canada), but I would suggest that we actually should support Trump on this. We need to be pragmatic. The US is our biggest trading partner, by far, and they can indeed destroy us economically if they want. We do not want to poke the bear if we can help it. Look what happened when Premier Ford of Ontario launched that anti-tariff ad in the US. We were on the brink of a new trade deal with the US, and it was promptly put on the back burner after that.

Even Carney, our Prime Minister, said about China that we have to recognize what is, and not just what we might want it be. At the least he is trying to create options for us, to mitigate further US tariffs and sanctions against us. This is exactly what he said:
“It’s a partnership that reflects the world as it is today, with an engagement that is realistic, respectful and interest-based,” Carney said at a news conference in Beijing.
Carney said he raised human rights in the meeting with Xi, and said Canada has a “value-based realism” to its approach.
“We fundamentally stand up for human rights, for democracy, territorial integrity, rights to self-determination,” he said. “We take the world as it is, not as we wish it to be.”
 
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This is very exciting news! Just in time for the Annacis Auto terminal upgrade to be Canada's largest EV parking lot!
 
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Just watched Carney's speech in Davos at the WEF. Have to say I was very impressed with what he said. He is taking a very bold stance, but he explained it well, though for sure Trump won't be happy. Basically it will be the world against Trump. No question Canada will be in for some pain from the US. But I applaud his courage. It's a big risk, but he is banking on diversification and support from other countries around the world.

If you can find a vid of that, maybe on youtube, you really need to watch it. Best speech I have seen in a long time. He described what was, why it failed, and what it is now, and where we might go in the future. I couldn't disagree with anything he said.

And here it is:
 
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Trump threatens 100% tariffs (on everything) if Canada goes through with the China deal. Needless to say this would devastate the Canadian economy. It would also severely hurt the US as they import a lot of Cdn oil and fertilizer.

However, Trump is known to initially come on strong, and then back off if there is some kind of negotiated settlement and claim victory. We hope this happens. It is important to note that this is not a wide "free trade" deal, which Trump seems to imply. It only affects EVs, but more importantly reduces China tariffs on canola which is affecting our farmers. These tariffs were introduced in 2024 to match the US EV tariffs on China. But it backfired on Canada when China placed 100% tariffs on Canada ag products (not just canola). So the new China/Canada deal only rolled the tariffs back to prior 2024.

www.ctvnews.ca

Trump calls Carney ‘governor’ and threatens 100% tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump revived one of his most pointed insults toward Canada on Saturday, calling Prime Minister Mark Carney 'governor' and threatening to slam the country with a 100 per cent tariff over its growing ties with China. Follow for live updates.
www.ctvnews.ca www.ctvnews.ca
As a Canadian it is sad to see US/Canada relations sour this way. Not sure what the future holds for us. But needless to say we are extremely nervous with what is happening.
 
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R P said:
Trump threatens 100% tariffs (on everything) if Canada goes through with the China deal. Needless to say this would devastate the Canadian economy. It would also severely hurt the US as they import a lot of Cdn oil and fertilizer.
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It would accelerate the isolation of the USA's sociopath in Chief from world trade ... a good thing. Although I am not Canadian, it appears their public policy is to improve exports to other countries with significant improvements in rail and port expansion. Even the port of Churchill!

A USA citizen, I think the perfect answer is to tax exports at the same rate as tariffs are applied by other importers. This would amplify the effect of tariffs ... doubling their negative impact and encourage free trade.

One recent report is the Canadian saw mills are transitioning to metric. This would finally drag the USA into the 19th Century, standard measurements. Not sure about Celsius but we can hope.

Bob Wilson
 
A lot of this tariff stuff is posture and threats to make a deal.

Not to get political, but a lot of what trump is doing is right for the long term-- US manufacturing is not and cannot be competitive in current landscape -- due to labor rates. If we want the factory and blue collar workers back, imports need to cost more.
Short term, it's causing a lot of political tension and rising prices hurting consumers and foreign relations.

Canada has gst
Eu has vat

US is doing the same... Just too much at once.
 
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Yes, totally agree. I don't look at Trump through TDS lens, like so many critics do. He is doing what he believes is right for the US. No question trade was very unfair which is what prompted his actions. And he is doing a lot to fix many other things, like crime. fraud, waste and the economy. Wish our govts here would do that. But I don't like how he turns on and treats his friends to achieve his objectives. I don't think that is necessary, and causes a lot of extra unnecessary tensions.
 
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