Prime Minister Mark Carney says US President Donald Trump expressed a positive view of the structure of Canada’s arrangement for Chinese electric-vehicle imports after a conversation that was caught on a hot mic. Carney, speaking after the chat, said Trump is happy with Canada’s approach, which allows a limited number of Chinese EVs to enter Canada under a relatively low tariff rate. Trump did not give an unambiguous public endorsement when asked afterward, but he indicated he could understand the quota arrangement.
The deal was unveiled during Carney’s trip to Beijing in January. Under the framework, up to 49,000 Chinese EVs can be imported over a 12-month period. The tariff applied to those imports is around 6%, and the quota is set to increase gradually over time. Both reports describe Carney’s account of Trump’s reaction and the key features of the Canada-China EV arrangement, including the capped volumes and the low-tariff level.
