The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland met with leaders of the auto sector Friday in Toronto as part of continuing consultations about how to respond to what the Canadian government calls "unfair Chinese trade practices in electric vehicles." The Globe's Steven Chase writes that in June, Ottawa signalled it might impose a surtax on imports of Chinese made electric vehicles, which it said are being overproduced and flooding global markets. Currently, Teslas from China are subject to a 6-per-cent import tax. Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association president Flavio Volpe said the glut of Chinese made electric vehicles threatens to elbow out North American manufacturers just as China did with solar panel technology by "flooding foreign markets, subsidizing the cost of the commodity and collapsing foreign manufacturing capacity." He said Chinese electric vehicles threaten Canadian government investments in its EV industry. Mr. Volpe said, "But I think we all agreed -- industry and government here -- that we need to push back and create the space for some of our investments to get some return before we give the market away to the Chinese."
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