(Napanee) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it’s “ridiculous” that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre “is suddenly discovering the importance of the electric vehicle industry in Canada,” when he proposed last week imposing tariffs on China in this sector.
At a press conference Monday morning in Napanee, Ontario, Mr. Trudeau was asked to react to the Conservative leader’s proposals, who intends to impose 100% customs duties on electric vehicles manufactured in China and imported into Canada.
Mr. Poilievre also pledged to adopt tariffs of 50% on semiconductors and solar cells, and 25% on steel and aluminum products, graphite and other essential minerals.
Prime Minister Trudeau stressed that his government had made several investments in recent years to develop this industry in Canada.
PHOTO JUSTIN TANG, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
“And at every step, Pierre Poilievre and the federal Conservatives attacked our investments and announced that they were going to cut our investments,” he said.
“So I find it downright ridiculous that all of a sudden he’s concerned about jobs, workers and the electric vehicle industry. Nobody believes him in that.”
Mr. Trudeau added that the government has long been in discussions with industry players about the threat posed by China.
He said the government wanted to make sure it protected industry and jobs in Canada, but also offered Canadians options to purchase an electric vehicle.
At a press conference last week, Poilievre explained that, in his opinion, the Trudeau government is “putting hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk” in the steel, aluminum, mining and auto manufacturing sectors “by allowing Beijing to flood our markets with electric vehicles and other products made in China at artificially low prices.”
He even accused the Liberal government of “favoring foreign dictatorships” since the discounts on the purchase of an electric vehicle are also valid when it is manufactured in China.
In late June, Finance Minister Chystia Freeland announced the launch of a process to impose new import taxes on Chinese-made electric vehicles and accused Beijing of “intentionally creating overcapacity and excess supply.”
The decision came weeks after the United States and the European Commission moved to impose their own new import duties on Chinese electric vehicles, citing unfair subsidies aimed at replacing more expensive vehicles made in Europe and North America.