【By Observer Net, Yuan Jiaqi】
During Prime Minister Trudeau's visit to China in early January, Canada canceled the 100% additional tariffs on imported Chinese electric vehicles that were imposed during the Trudeau era in line with the U.S. Biden administration, and instead implemented an annual quota management system.
According to the new arrangement, Chinese electric vehicles will be granted an annual import quota of 49,000 units, enjoying a Most Favored Nation tariff of 6.1% within the quota, and the quota quantity will increase proportionally year by year.
President Trump, who has been fickle, initially praised Kanee for "doing the right thing," but quickly turned around to threaten to impose a 100% tax on Canadian imports, hyping up nonsense about Canada being "devoured" by China.
At this time, California, which has long been at odds with the Trump administration in the field of green energy, stepped forward to voice dissent.
According to Bloomberg News on the 28th, at the BloombergNEF summit held in San Francisco, the chairman of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Lauren Sanchez, praised the China-Canada electric vehicle agreement, calling it a victory in the global transition away from fuel-powered vehicles and providing strong support for the global phase-out of fuel-powered vehicles.
"This will further highlight that the Trump administration is going its own way," said the state's top environmental regulator. "After seeing the relevant arrangements announced by Premier Kanee, I am very much looking forward to Canada's subsequent progress."
In October 2023, California Governor Newsom drove a BYD electric vehicle in Shenzhen, and Sanchez (left) was then his state governor's senior climate advisor. Shenzhen Satellite TV Deep View News
It was reported that the Trump administration and Congress attempted to strip the California Air Resources Board of its emission regulatory authority, abolish strict fuel economy standards that pushed car manufacturers toward electrification, and also cancel a federal zero-emission vehicle purchase tax credit that had been in place for over a decade, worth $7,500.
Due to the termination of federal subsidies, concerns about purchase costs, and consumers shifting toward hybrid vehicles, U.S. electric vehicle sales dropped significantly in the fourth quarter. Sanchez attributed this downturn to the Trump administration's "deliberate attack" on pure electric vehicles.
As the largest auto market in the United States, California is advancing a $200 million investment to maintain the state's consumer purchase subsidies.
"Other developed countries and developing countries have seen the advantages of electric vehicles and hope to remain competitive in this trend-driven global market," she said during an interview at the summit. "This is also why we are pushing for this $200 million subsidy investment and ensuring support for California's local automobile manufacturers."
When asked whether American consumers might see electric vehicles produced by Chinese automaker BYD, Sanchez said the decision was not hers, but there may be many in Vancouver. Due to high tariffs imposed by the U.S. federal government on Chinese imported cars, Chinese electric vehicles are effectively excluded from the U.S. market.
According to earlier reports by U.S. media, Democratic Governor Newsom first proposed in 2020 that all new car sales in the state must be zero-emission vehicles by 2035, with plug-in hybrid vehicles and used gasoline cars still allowed to be sold.
California accounts for 11% of the U.S. automotive market and has a strong influence on national consumption trends. Dozens of states, including New York, Massachusetts, and Oregon, originally planned to adopt California's electrification standards, and their combined car sales account for 40% of the U.S. market. In addition, due to California's large economic scale, major automakers largely comply with its emission standards to maintain sales in the state.
However, since taking office in January last year, the Trump administration has attacked the electric vehicle industry in multiple ways: In June, Trump signed a bill to block California's ban on fuel-powered vehicles, causing the milestone plan to phase out new fuel-powered vehicles to fail; in July, he pushed through the "Big and Beautiful Act," which clearly terminated the federal electric vehicle tax credit as of September 30, and abolished the zero-emission vehicle credit program and penalties for non-compliance with fuel efficiency standards, comprehensively weakening the incentives for electrification policies.
Data shows that in the fourth quarter of last year, the number of new clean energy vehicles registered in California was 79,066, a 27% decline compared to the previous year, and a 36.6% drop compared to the third quarter, far below the 124,755 in the third quarter. The registration volume for that quarter not only ranked last of the year, but also fell below 100,000 for the first time since 2022, setting a three-year low for a single quarter. During the same period, the share of electric vehicles in new car sales in California also dropped sharply from 10.5% in the third quarter to 5.8%.
To boost demand for electric vehicles, in early January this year, Newsom proposed a one-time $200 million fund to restore the state-level electric vehicle purchase subsidy policy. The Trump administration immediately criticized California for "wasting taxpayers' money" and continued the "failed policies" of the Biden era.
Meanwhile, the White House has continuously pressured the China-Canada electric vehicle agreement. After Trump threatened to impose a 100% tariff on Canada, Treasury Secretary Bessenert also spoke out, warning that if Canada continued to push forward the agreement with China or even reached a free trade agreement, becoming a so-called "dumping platform" for Chinese goods, it would face U.S. tariff punishment.
Regarding the latest tariff threats from Trump, Canadian Minister for U.S.-Canada Trade, Dominic LeBlanc, said on the 24th that the Canadian government currently has no plans to reach a free trade agreement with China, and the agreements reached between the two countries are aimed at resolving tariff disputes between the two sides.
Canadian Minister of Identity and Culture, Marc Miller, reminded on the same day, "We must take this seriously, but Canada is not negotiating a free trade agreement with China. This statement carries weight, and we will take it seriously while also doing what we can control."
Kanee and the cabinet maintained a consistent stance, pointing out that Trump's continuous release of tariff threats is actually a prelude to the renegotiation of the USMCA later this year, showing a tough posture.
Regarding the U.S. using China as an excuse to issue tariff threats against Canada, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jian Kun stated on the 26th at a regular press conference that China advocates that countries should handle international relations with a win-win rather than zero-sum mindset, and cooperation rather than confrontation. China and Canada building a new type of strategic partnership, making specific arrangements to properly resolve Sino-Canadian trade issues, reflects the spirit of equality, openness, peace, and shared benefits, does not target any third party, conforms to the common interests of the people of both countries, and is beneficial to world peace, stability, and development.
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Original: toutiao.com/article/7600253105917198882/
Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.