Trump calls Canada-China deal ‘a good thing’ as US officials voice concerns – National
Canada’s new trade deal with China is getting mixed reactions in Washington, with US President Donald Trump voicing support as administration officials warned Ottawa it could regret allowing Chinese EVs into the Canadian market.
The deal signed with Beijing on Friday reverses the 100 percent tariffs Canada imposed on Chinese electric vehicles by 2024, along with similar U.S. duties. Canada and China also agreed to lower tariffs on canola and other products.
Asked about the deal with reporters at the White House, Trump said Prime Minister Mark Carney did the right thing.
“That’s what you should be doing. It’s a good thing that he signed a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do it,” Trump said.
However, members of Trump’s cabinet expressed concern.
“I think they will look back on this decision and regret bringing Chinese cars into their market,” said US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy at an event with other US government officials at the Ford factory in Ohio where he expressed efforts to make cars more accessible.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters that the limited number of cars will not affect American car companies that export cars to Canada.
“I don’t expect that to affect American exports to Canada,” he said.
“Canada is very dependent on the United States for its GDP. All its people are at our border for that reason. I’ll tell you one thing: if those cars come into Canada, they won’t come here. That’s a fact.”
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Carney said it is necessary for Canada to improve trade and cooperation with China because of Trump’s trade war and threats to allow the Canada-US-Mexico Free Trade Agreement to expire.
The trade deal will be renegotiated this summer, and Gerer emphasized that the Trump administration wants to bring more auto manufacturing back to the US and encourage companies to do so.
Under the new deal with Beijing, Carney said he expects China to drop its canola seed tariffs on March 1 to a combined 15 percent.
Greer questioned that deal in a separate CNBC interview.
“I think that in the long run they will not like to make that agreement,” he said.
He called the decision to allow Chinese EVs into Canada “problematic” and added: “There’s a reason we don’t sell a lot of Chinese cars in the United States.”
Greer said the rules passed last January on Internet-connected cars and navigation systems are a major obstacle for Chinese cars in the U.S. market.
“I think it would be difficult for them to work here,” Greer said. “There are laws and regulations in place in America regarding the safety of our vehicles and the systems that go into those, so I think it may be difficult for the Chinese to comply with those laws.”
Trump and officials like Greer have targeted Chinese efforts to enter the North American auto market through Mexico by circumventing rules of origin under CUSMA.
The CUSMA review scheduled for July is expected to address the loopholes that US and Canadian officials have said are being exploited by China.
Those concerns, which have also been raised by the Biden administration, have in part helped drive up prices for Chinese EVs, which are heavily subsidized by Beijing.
Trump, however, also said he would like Chinese auto companies to come to the United States to build cars.
Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers in the US have voiced strong opposition to Chinese autos as major US automakers warn China threatens the US auto industry.
Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican, at a Friday event at the Ford plant that he is against Chinese cars entering the United States, was applauded by other government officials.
“As long as I have breath in my body, there will be no Chinese cars sold in the United States of America – period,” Moreno said.
– via files from Reuters
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