Canada ‘absolutely’ eying proposed U.S. ban on China’s auto tech: Freeland

Canada is “absolutely” considering pursuing a large connection by the United States to prohibition Chinese automotive technology, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters Tuesday.

This comes aft the White House announced Monday a connection to prohibition Chinese bundle and hardware successful connected vehicles connected American roads owed to nationalist information concerns.

The determination would people the latest crackdown connected China’s automotive manufacture by the Biden medication and would efficaciously barroom each Chinese cars from entering the U.S. market.

It besides raises questions astir whether Canada volition bash the same, aft matching America’s pb successful slapping precocious tariffs connected Chinese electrical vehicles and weighing further restrictions.

When asked if Canada was considering a akin move, Freeland said, “The abbreviated reply is: absolutely.”

“A longer reply is our authorities has made precise wide that we instrumentality truly earnestly intentional Chinese overcapacity and we instrumentality precise earnestly the information menace from China,” she added. “That’s wherefore we acted decisively successful imposing tariffs connected Chinese EVs, connected Chinese steel, (and) connected Chinese aluminum.

“We are precise mindful of the biology standards, the labour standards, oregon I truly ought to accidental the deficiency of biology standards, deficiency of labour standards that underpin that production.”

Freeland said the Canadian authorities besides had information concerns with allowing Chinese bundle successful connected vehicles,which 1 adept described to Global News earlier this twelvemonth arsenic “rolling spy vans.”

After Canada precocious followed the U.S. successful introducing a 100 per cent tariff connected Chinese-made electrical vehicles and a 25 per cent tariff connected Chinese alloy and aluminum, the authorities launched a consultation process to enforce further tariffs connected Chinese batteries, artillery parts, semiconductors, captious minerals and metals and star products.

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Freeland said discussions connected Chinese bundle volition beryllium a portion of these consultations.

“We are looking astatine whether we request to enforce further measures and we’re doing that … successful adjacent consultation with Canadian manufacture (and) Canadian labour,” she said.

The planned regularisation by the U.S. Commerce Department, which inactive needs to beryllium finalized, would besides unit American and different large automakers successful the coming years to region cardinal Chinese bundle and hardware from vehicles successful the U.S.

A information expanse from the White House says the projected regularisation targets exertion and components imported from “countries of concern,” which besides includes Russia.

“When overseas adversaries physique bundle to marque a vehicle, that means it tin beryllium utilized for surveillance, tin beryllium remotely controlled, which threatens the privateness and information of Americans connected the road,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told a property briefing.

“In an utmost situation, a overseas adversary could unopen down oregon instrumentality power of each their vehicles operating successful the United States each astatine the aforesaid clip — causing crashes, blocking roads.”

— with files from Global’s Sean Boynton.