Live data from Hacker News

Canada slashes 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs to 6%

electrek.co

231–240 of 640 posts

Re: Canada slashes 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs to 6%

#231
post #162
post #6

"Canada has agreed to allow an annual quota of 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the country at the tariff rate of just 6.1%" https://electricautonomy.ca/data-trackers/ev-sales-data/2025... "Canada recorded 45,366 new zero-emission vehicle registrations in Q3 2025, accounting for 9.4 per cent of all new vehicle registrations in the quarter, according to the latest report from Statistics Canada." "Of the total, 26…

> He said there would be an initial cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports to Canada, growing to 70,000 over five years.

I always wonder why people settle on a number like 49,000 when 50,000 is sitting right there, looking you in the face.

Re: Canada slashes 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs to 6%

#232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Better how?

Not currently making "jokes" about annexing the country?

Two years ago the same party that currently holds Canadian government and just made these concessions to China completed a report [0] that found

>[China’s actions] collectively "undermine our democratic institutions, our fundamental rights and freedoms, our social cohesion and our long-term prosperity.”[343] [and] the need to consider the threats in the context of an increasingly assertive PRC. Accordingly, Minister Garneau stated that various countries, including Canada, are reassessing their relationship with the PRC in light of its authoritarian and coercive actions.

But yeah a little chirping about Canada’s own unfair trade practices must be DEFCON 3 for US-Canada relations.

[0] https://www.ourcommons.ca/documentviewer/en/44-1/CACN/report...

Re: Canada slashes 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs to 6%

#233
post #8

Its only the first 50K that get 6%, still pretty interesting as being physically so close to the US could cause people in the US to get their first look at Chinese cars. Chinese car companies face far more ruthless competition than western ones so could end up making better cars as a result, imo. There are over 100 brands in china selling electric cars

Chinese cars are good.

Even though they are tariffed as hell they often come as better to European counterparts here at similar pricing.

Re: Canada slashes 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs to 6%

#234

A Canadian satire site has the headline "Canada chooses lawful evil over chaotic evil": * https://thebeaverton.com/2026/01/canada-chooses-lawful-evil-... * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_(Dungeons_%26_Dragon... Edit: A comment in /r/canada: > TBF I would much rather work for Lex Luthor than The Joker if I had to choose one.

That's basically it. The Chinese government views the rest of the world through Hobbesian self interest, but in the late 20th century financial way. They want your money, but lawfully.

The US has turned into something much more vindictive and unpredictable, including threatening to invade Canada.

Re: Canada slashes 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs to 6%

#235

What will be interesting are the restrictions on where the BYD vehicles are allowed to go. e.g. https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/366599/chinese-evs-banned...

I'm also curious to see if we will see more "no drive zones".

We see this in other domains: I recently talked to someone from an asset inspection (think flying around bridges to check for fractures) company. They can't use DJI drones because of security concerns.

Re: Canada slashes 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs to 6%

#236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keep in mind that the US auto industry is also very much a Canadian one. A lot of Big Three stuff happens across the border in Ontario. But all the policy support that would have let North American automakers build up a competitive position with China is gone, so this is more about just acknowledging reality now.

Yeah there was never any competing with china, our industry just relies on our market using different values to purchase a car. It’s tough to convince most price-inelastic people they shouldn’t buy a car that is 1/2 price, even if it has fewer features. Edit: to be clear I meant that the US did not compete, not that they could not compete

I remember how popular the Yugo was, and then the Geo metro. Nobody wants good cars, they want cheap transportation.

Re: Canada slashes 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs to 6%

#237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yeah thee was never any competing with china, our industry just relies on our market using different values to purchase a car. This is patently false. The US could have competed with China if it had maintained investments spinning up battery manufacturing and downstream systems to build EVs at scale, while subsidizing EVs (fossil fuels are subsidized to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars per year [1]) and…

The offset is not positive when you factor in the externalities that go into escalating Chinese EV production.

I would love to see a thorough, agreed upon study comparing ICEs and EVs. If you have hard data (say, from a reputable journal, not just the news), please post.

Re: Canada slashes 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs to 6%

#238
post #77

[flagged]

> And it may sound paranoid but remember that China was caught operating their own "police" force around the world not long ago Have you heard about ICE? That one's not a paranoid thought. It's a very real personal police designed for oppression. I'd much much rather chineses EVs flooding the market over Teslas.

These two concerns do not need to be mutually exclusive. Either one can be recognized as a threat to our liberties without diminishing the severity of the other.

The more relevant discussion is the lack of policy/legislation to prohibit government agencies from sidestepping the 4th amendment and purchasing access from private corps, like Flock, to surveil individuals without a warrant. It’s ICE today, maybe DEA tomorrow, and the FDA in some broken future. In a decade or two, when nearly all vehicles are inherently advanced optical sensors with wheels, what stops auto manufactures becoming real-time surveillance companies, like Flock?

Re: Canada slashes 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs to 6%

#239

The US government has really handled this poorly. Let's take one of our closest allies and push them into the arms of our biggest rival. All while helping boost that rival's total exports to record numbers. And boosting their universities to top positions in world rankings. Just brilliant, guys. "Make America Great Again" sure seems like it was intentionally tongue-in-cheek.

The exports argument is so bloated.

US has thrived economically for 5 decades after becoming an import economy.

This whole export/import balance is such a lame reasoning...yes you've spent a certain amount of $...and got plenty of stuff in exchange. In the words of some economist I've read "by Trump's reasoning my barber is also taking advantage of me because I cut my hair every month and he never buys anything from me".

Last but not least, services are never included in these trade balance arguments. How much money flows to US through their financial and IT services alone...?

Re: Canada slashes 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs to 6%

#240
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chinese EVs are already way ahead of most western EVs - really, you need to see some of the cars the likes of Zeekr, Lynk & Co, Denza and Xpeng are releasing.

Could you explain some specific ways in which they are ahead?

For starters they can sell EVs at a profit, a feat which I believe only Tesla has managed among the US manufacturers.
Post reply on HN