Bay of Quinte MP Ryan Williams, Shadow Minister for International Trade says Canada Needs to Step Up and Protect Our Auto Manufacturing Sector

Immediate Release
August 21, 2024

Bay of Quinte MP Ryan Williams with his new role as Shadow Critic for International Trade is in Ottawa today with a motion to study why Canada has not yet placed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles who threaten the livelihood of our auto manufacturing sector in North America. Locally, not having tariffs could impact jobs at automotive parts manufacturers Magna International in Belleville and Hanon Systems in Belleville.

MP Williams says “We have an integrated North American automotive industry that employs five hundred thousand people in Canada including car dealers and auto part manufacturers and service. It is an 18-billion-dollar industry here in Canada. In my role as Shadow Minister for Pan Canadian Trade and Competition I have seen full well that this industry is under threat from China EV’s who have unfair trade practices. They are heavily subsidized and have questionable labour standards in vehicles that collect and store data. We are not entirely sure how safe your data is in those vehicles.”

MP Williams believes this is also about protecting the steel and aluminum industry in Canada. He says “This put jobs in Belleville and Bay of Quinte under threat, and I will work hard to ensure our Auto and Manufacturing Industries in Canada and the Bay of Quinte Region are protected from unfair Chinese trade practices”.

Earlier this month Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced a plan to bring home Canadian jobs by matching American tariffs on Chinese-produced electric vehicles (EVs) and EV components. The plan means tariffs on steel, aluminum, critical minerals and other key imports, and an end to rebates for made-in-China EVs. Poilievre believes Canadian workers deserve powerful paycheques and safe jobs. Conservatives have put forward a plan to match our closest trading partner and introduce a 100% tariff on made-in-China EVs entering Canada, introduce a 50% tariff on semiconductors and solar cells, introduce a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum products, graphite, other critical minerals, EV batteries, battery parts, permanent magnets and ship-to-shore cranes and ensure there are no more rebates for made-in-China EVs.