Updated Jan. 16, 2026, 5:39 p.m. ET
A new Canadian trade deal with China allowing 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the country at a lower tariff rate was swiftly criticized by senior Trump administration officials as well as the leader of Canada’s main automaking province.
“China now has a foothold in the Canadian market and will use it to their full advantage at the expense of Canadian workers,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement Friday.
“I think they will live to regret the day they partner with China and bring in their vehicles, but it’s a free country, and they can do what they want,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters Friday during a tour of Toledo’s Jeep factory.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, also on the Jeep plant tour, pointed out that the Canadians have put a cap on the number of vehicles allowed at the new tariff rate of about 6%, down from the current rate of 100%. But he said “we caution our partners in Canada” against allowing in the Chinese EVs, adding Trump planned to continue “protecting this market” from Chinese EV imports.
Canada and China agreed to lower trade barriers and rebuild ties, marking a significant thawing of relations. Prime Minister Mark Carney anticipates a drop in canola tariffs from 85% to about 15% combined by March 1, and in exchange, Canada will allow in the Chinese cars at the lower tariff rate. China will also offer visa-free travel to Canadians.
Ford, the Ontario leader, said the move would invite “a flood of cheap made-in-China electric vehicles without any real guarantee of equal or immediate investments in Canada’s economy, auto sector or supply chain.”
“Worse, by lowering tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, this lopsided deal risks closing the door on Canadian automakers to the American market, our largest export destination, which would hurt our economy and lead to job losses.”
U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, a Birmingham Democrat who’s running for Senate, said on social media that Canada’s decision was due to Trump’s “tariff chaos” that is “driving our allies in the arms of China and putting Michigan’s auto industry at risk.”
Carney said the deal is expected to drive considerable new Chinese joint-venture investment in Canada within three years, establishing partnerships with trusted firms to protect and create auto manufacturing jobs while building out Canada’s EV supply chain.
Canada originally matched the Biden administration’s 100% levy on electric cars to align with U.S. trade policy.
The issue is particularly concerning to Ontario’s premier because his province has several auto factories that have already suffered during the U.S. trade war. He urged Carney to increase support for the sector, including by scrapping the federal electric vehicle mandate.
Greer, the U.S. trade ambassador, was asked in Toledo whether Chinese car companies could sell their vehicles in the United States if they built them here. Trump has left open that possibility, even remarking in Detroit earlier this week that he was open to the idea if they were to “build a plant” here and “hire your friends and neighbors.”
“Is there a world where the Chinese come invest here and make cars? I don’t know,” Greer said. “I don’t think we’re in that world right now. Obviously the president is open to thinking about and considering any kind of proposal where people want to send money to America and create jobs in America.”
Detroit News Staff Writer Luke Ramseth and Bloomberg’s Melissa Shin contributed.
