Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland hints at broader trade action against China

Canada’s finance minister said she will hold talks next week with business and labour groups about erecting trade barriers against Chinese-made vehicles – and suggested the government may even go beyond cars.

The government last month announced a public consultation on how to respond to “unfair Chinese trade practices” of electric vehicles. But “the consultation actually could be broader than that,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said in an interview on Friday.

Canada, which relies heavily on two-way trade with the US, has been closely watching the Biden administration’s moves to impose higher tariffs against Chinese EVs, solar cells, batteries, steel and other products.

Canada has no choice but to view its trading relationships through a national security lens, said Freeland, who’s also the deputy prime minister.

“Geopolitics and geoeconomics is back. That means that Western countries – and very much the US – is putting a premium on secure supply chains and is taking a different attitude towards Chinese overcapacity,” she said. “And that means that Canada plays an even more important role for the United States.”

02:03

Chinese-made electric vehicles face additional EU import tariffs of up to 38%

Chinese-made electric vehicles face additional EU import tariffs of up to 38%

Freeland, who has Ukrainian heritage, pointed to this week’s statement by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation that China is a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine.