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[global times-global network reporter ni hao and xiong xinyi] the canadian government recently announced that it would impose additional tariffs on electric vehicles, steel and aluminum products imported from china. the spokesperson of the ministry of commerce of china responded on september 3, saying that canada has taken discriminatory unilateral restrictive measures on products imported from china despite opposition and dissuasion from many parties. china is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposed to this, and intends to bring canada's relevant practices to the wto dispute settlement mechanism. china will initiate an "anti-discrimination investigation" on the relevant restrictive measures taken by canada in accordance with article 7 and article 36 of the foreign trade law of the people's republic of china, and will take corresponding measures against canada in the future according to the actual situation.

in addition, according to recent reports from china's domestic industry, canada's canola exports to china have increased significantly and are suspected of dumping, reaching us$3.47 billion in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 170%, and prices have continued to fall. affected by canada's unfair competition, china's domestic canola-related industries continue to lose money. china will initiate an anti-dumping investigation on canola imports from canada in accordance with relevant domestic laws and regulations and wto rules. china will also initiate an anti-dumping investigation on relevant canadian chemical products based on domestic industry applications.

regarding the four measures, the spokesperson of the ministry of commerce emphasized that china's attitude is very clear and it will take all necessary measures to defend the legitimate rights and interests of chinese companies.

experts: canada has seriously violated three basic principles of the wto

on august 26, the canadian government announced that it would impose a 100% tariff on imported electric vehicles made in china starting october 1 this year; and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum products made in china starting october 15.

the canadian broadcasting corporation (cbc) called it a "measure that follows the example of the united states." according to reports, jake sullivan, the us president's national security advisor, met with canadian prime minister trudeau and his cabinet ministers on august 25 and delivered a speech, asking canada to "reach an agreement with the united states" on tariffs on chinese electric vehicles and other products.

in addition to pure electric vehicles, the china chamber of mechanical and electrical engineering said on the 3rd that the products included in canada's tariff list also involve 23 customs codes such as hybrid (including plug-in) passenger cars, buses and trucks. this is the measure that involves the most chinese electric vehicle models and the heaviest tax increase so far. liang ming, director of the institute of foreign trade of the ministry of commerce research institute, told the global times that canada's tariffs on chinese automobiles, steel and aluminum products cover a wider range than the united states, and its behavior is worse than that of the united states.

"in terms of tariff rates, canada also blindly followed the united states and did not conduct any investigation or research. it set a high tax rate of 100% on my country's electric vehicles in an extremely subjective manner," liang ming said. "compared with the united states and the european union, they also investigated the relevant measures under the guise of so-called 'legality'. canada's measures are extremely subjective, malicious and unscrupulous."

liang ming said that the basic principles of the wto can be summarized into three basic principles: "non-discrimination", "fair trade" and "transparency". the canadian move seriously violated the three basic principles of the wto and openly challenged the international trade order.

china's four measures are well-founded

the spokesperson of the ministry of commerce said on september 3 that despite opposition and dissuasion from many parties, canada has adopted discriminatory unilateral restrictive measures on products imported from china. china is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposed to this, and intends to bring canada's relevant practices to the wto dispute settlement mechanism. china will initiate an "anti-discrimination investigation" on the relevant restrictive measures taken by canada in accordance with articles 7 and 36 of the foreign trade law of the people's republic of china, and will take corresponding measures against canada in the future according to the actual situation.

zhou xiaoyan, vice president of the china council for international investment promotion, told the global times that china and canada are both members of the wto. canada's actions clearly violate the wto's non-discrimination principle and related rules. china has the right to file a lawsuit with the wto over canada's actions to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of china, especially chinese companies.

in addition, zhou xiaoyan believes that the "anti-discrimination investigation" against canada is based on article 7 of the "foreign trade law of the people's republic of china": if any country or region adopts discriminatory prohibitions, restrictions or other similar measures against the people's republic of china in terms of trade, the people's republic of china may take corresponding measures against that country or region based on actual conditions. zhou xiaoyan said that canada's actions clearly took discriminatory restrictive measures against my country's electric vehicle products. according to legal authorization, the ministry of commerce can initiate an anti-discrimination investigation against the canadian government based on actual conditions and take corresponding measures. according to articles 36 and 37 of the foreign trade law, anti-discrimination investigations are a type of foreign trade investigation. as the competent department for foreign trade, the ministry of commerce will issue an announcement to initiate the investigation, and adopt written questionnaires, hearings, field investigations, etc. to conduct the investigation. it will make a ruling on taking corresponding measures based on the investigation results and issue an announcement. this investigation procedure is in line with the wto principle of transparency and the legal principle of due process.

china has always been the largest target of global trade remedy investigations. this time, china launched its first "anti-discrimination investigation" against canada in order to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of chinese companies and fight back against behaviors that clearly violate wto rules. liang ming believes that the imposition of 100% tariffs is very serious and bad, which may lead to some countries that are unaware of the truth to follow suit, and will also have an adverse impact on global trade liberalization.

zhou xiaoyan said that the anti-dumping investigation on canadian canola and related chemical products is also a trade remedy investigation initiated in accordance with wto rules and chinese domestic laws, mainly targeting unfair trade practices. the ministry of commerce’s announcement shows that according to recent reports from china’s domestic industries, canada’s canola exports to china have increased significantly and are suspected of dumping, reaching us$3.47 billion in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 170%, and prices have continued to fall. affected by canada’s unfair competition, china’s domestic canola-related industries continue to lose money. china will initiate an anti-dumping investigation on canola imported from canada in accordance with relevant domestic laws and regulations and wto rules; in addition, china will also initiate an anti-dumping investigation on relevant canadian chemical products based on domestic industry applications.

what is the impact?

after canada decided to impose additional tariffs on chinese electric vehicles last month, the ministry of commerce responded on august 27, saying that the development of china's electric vehicle and other industries is based on its own comparative advantages and is the result of open competition. chinese electric vehicles are welcomed by global users, including canadian consumers, and have made great contributions to global response to climate change and green transformation. canada's move will disrupt the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain, seriously undermine the global economic system and economic and trade rules, severely impact china-canada economic and trade relations, damage the interests of enterprises in both countries, affect the welfare of canadian consumers, and undermine canada's green transformation and global efforts to respond to climate change.

data provided by liang ming to the global times show that in 2023, china will be canada's third largest source of electric vehicle imports and the second largest source of steel and aluminum imports. liang ming believes that the impact of canada's measures on china's exports of related goods is obviously greater than that of the united states. this unilateral measure that seriously violates wto rules is naked trade protectionism, which harms others and does not benefit oneself. it will eventually destroy the industrial chain of canada's auto industry and harm the interests of canadian consumers.

in contrast, the proportion of taxable products imported from canada in china's exports is not large, and the overall impact on china's exports is controllable. liang ming believes that canada's actions will not affect the stable growth of china's foreign trade and economy.

liang ming told the global times that china's electric vehicles have won wide popularity among global consumers with their excellent performance, intelligent cockpits and efficient autonomous driving. while china's electric vehicles are developing rapidly in china, they are also actively going overseas, adhering to the development concepts of win-win cooperation, long-termism and localization, and sharing the development opportunities of electric and intelligent vehicles with countries around the world. liang ming believes that "the relevant measures of the united states and canada will not affect the momentum of china's electric vehicles going overseas, nor will they affect the continuous improvement of the competitiveness of china's electric vehicles."