Chinese-made Teslas pour into Canada as Biden erects U.S. tariff wall
BNN Bloomberg
The Biden administration is quadrupling U.S. tariffs on electric vehicles manufactured in China. But Chinese-made cars are still finding their way into a receptive North American market — just to the north.
Canada is seeing a surge of imports of Chinese-made EVs, particularly Tesla Inc. models made in Shanghai. The number of cars arriving from China at the port of Vancouver rose more than fivefold last year, to 44,400, after Elon Musk’s automaker started shipping Model Y vehicles made there.
The situation is drawing howls of protest from some auto-industry players who want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to follow the White House and do more to protect the domestic industry.
Canada imposes only a small tariff on Chinese-made vehicles — about six per cent. It also allows consumers to tap a federal rebate program when they buy foreign-manufactured EVs. Since Tesla started exporting from its Shanghai factory last year, many purchasers have begun using that incentive.
