Canada and China have reached an initial trade agreement that includes tariff reductions, particularly on electric vehicles and canola. This was announced by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The parties also agreed to remove trade barriers and develop new strategic relations.
Source: Bukvy
Mark Carney became the first Canadian Prime Minister to visit China since 2017. The visit followed months of diplomatic efforts to restore ties with Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the United States.
Under the agreement, Canada will initially allow the import of up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles with a 6.1% tariff under the most-favored-nation regime. By comparison, in 2024, Justin Trudeau’s government imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles following similar measures by the United States. In 2023, China exported over 41,000 electric vehicles to Canada.
Carney emphasized that Ottawa expects to expand cooperation with Beijing in clean energy storage and production, which is expected to stimulate investment and job creation. According to him, the agreement could also secure significant Chinese investment in Canada’s automotive sector and support the achievement of net-zero emissions goals.
The parties plan to deepen interaction in trade, energy, agriculture, finance, education, and climate change mitigation.
Carney’s visit took place amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump on both countries. Previously, relations between Ottawa and Beijing had remained cool.
In a post on the social media platform X, Mark Carney stated that in an increasingly unstable world, Canada is focusing on restoring relations with China and working toward a stronger shared future. Earlier, Chinese state media urged the Canadian government to conduct foreign policy independent of the United States, which Beijing refers to as “strategic autonomy.”
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