Canada Agrees to Admit 49,000 Chinese Electric Vehicles in Deal With Beijing

Canada will allow up to 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles a year to enter at a 6.1 percent tariff, down from 100 percent, and China will cut its duties on Canadian canola, under a preliminary agreement Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Friday in Beijing after meeting President Xi Jinping. The deal matters to Washington because it comes as Ottawa openly looks for trading partners beyond the United States.

Under the arrangement, which Canadian Press described as a tariff-quota deal, the 49,000-vehicle quota amounts to less than 3 percent of the Canadian market. Canadian Press reported that half of those vehicles are to cost less than $35,000 by 2030. Al Jazeera noted that the 100 percent duty was imposed by Justin Trudeau’s government in 2024 and that Carney did not give a time period for the quota.

In return, Carney said he expects China to reduce its combined tariff on Canadian canola seed to about 15 percent from 84 percent by March 1. China is a roughly $4 billion market for Canadian canola seed, Al Jazeera reported. Canadian canola meal, lobster, crab and peas are to be exempt from China’s so-called anti-discrimination tariffs from March until at least the end of the year. Canadian Press noted that canola oil, which faces a 100 percent Chinese tariff, was not mentioned. Carney said the package would unlock nearly $3 billion in export orders for farmers, fish harvesters and processors, according to Al Jazeera.

Carney called the agreement “preliminary but landmark” and part of a broader strategic partnership that covers tourism and cultural ties, Canadian Press reported. He said Xi committed to visa-free travel to China for Canadians. Al Jazeera reported that the visit was the first by a Canadian prime minister to China since 2017, and that China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the United States. Xinhua said the two countries will restart a high-level economic and financial dialogue and cooperate on agriculture, oil, gas and green energy, Al Jazeera added.

Carney described China as more predictable than the United States as a trading partner, according to Al Jazeera. Asked about the security risks of closer ties, he said, “You manage the threats through engagement,” Canadian Press reported. The Liberal government has set a goal of doubling non-U.S. exports by 2030.

The reaction at home was split. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province is the center of Canadian auto manufacturing, said the deal threatens the industry and gives China “a foothold in the Canadian market,” according to Canadian Press. Al Jazeera quoted Ford warning of a “flood of cheap made-in-China electric vehicles.” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe called it “very good news for Canada and Saskatchewan.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre questioned why there is no guarantee China’s retaliatory tariffs will be fully removed, and asked Carney to explain how his view of China changed from last spring’s election campaign, when he called it Canada’s biggest security threat, Canadian Press reported.

The Trump administration’s response was not part of either report. Al Jazeera quoted Sun Chenghao of Tsinghua University as saying Canada is unlikely to realign strategically away from Washington.