Dropping tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles would be a mistake, warns Kovrig

Former diplomat Michael Kovrig discusses PM Carney’s talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, deepening ties, and the risks of increased trade with China.

Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig says scrapping tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EV) would be a mistake, and that it could give China too much leverage in future negotiations and domestic policymaking.

Canada has had 100 per cent tariffs on all EVs imported from China since last October. In response, China has levied taxes on Canadian canola imports.

Kovrig was detained for more than 1,000 days by China and released exactly four years ago.

In an interview on CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Wednesday, Kovrig said for both countries to remove their respective tariffs is “not a very complicated negotiation.” But, he added, Canada needs to “calibrate those concessions” to protect Canadians and domestic industry.

If both sides drop their levies, Kovrig said, Canada’s agriculture industry will be increasingly depending on China as an export market.

“That means the (agriculture) sector is going to become essentially a constituency for China within Canada that is going to repeatedly lobby the government to foster that relationship, protect that relationship, and not do anything that China doesn’t want Canada to do, lest it once again punish Canada by blocking that trade,” said Kovrig, who’s now a senior advisor with the International Crisis Group.

On the other side, he said, if Canada’s supply chains become dependent on Chinese EVs, it becomes “another choke point” for China to influence Canadian policy.

“You risk giving up sovereignty and giving away too much leverage to China if you do those things,” Kovrig said. “And in the case of electric vehicles, you risk completely hollowing out the entire supply chain, technological and industrial base of automotive.”

Two Canadian lawmakers — Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and parliamentary secretary to the prime minister Kody Blois — recently returned from a visit to China amid the ongoing trade war, while Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is also set to travel there next month.

On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, China’s second-highest ranking official.

Following that meeting, Carney signaled there are attempts to deepen the relationship with China in some sectors, such as agriculture and climate, saying he expects to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping “at the appropriate time.”

Speaking to Kapelos on Wednesday, Kovrig said that while the Carney-Li meeting showed a “willingness to improve” from both sides, he would “not read too much into diplomatic handshakes and smiles.”

“That’s something that every prime minister has to do, meeting every world leader at the United Nations, regardless of what they may actually think of them, personally or of their country,” Kovrig said, adding Canada needs to be mindful that China is not a “good-faith partner” in negotiations, and would be naïve to believe they could be.

Kovrig previously told CTV Power Play in May that it was “not feasible” to “reset relations” with China.

Earlier this month, Carney announced that his government will pause its 2026 EV target of having 20 per cent of light-duty vehicle sales be zero-emission, and launch a review of the overall mandate.

You can watch Michael Kovrig’s full interview on CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos in the video player at the top of this article.

With files from CTV News’ Stephanie Ha and Colton Praill