Toronto, Ontario -- Prime Minister Mark Carney is allowing OEMs building vehicles in Canada to avoid counter-tariffs placed on all imported vehicles manufactured in the U.S.
"Our counter-tariffs won’t apply if [OEMs] continue to produce, continue to employ [and] continue to invest in Canada,” the PM said during a press scrum.
The 25 percent tariffs were issued in response to similar tariffs placed all foreign-made vehicles from U.S. President Donald Trump. They came into effect on April 16.
Later during the same event, Ministry of Finance officials clarified that any manufacturers that cut production in Canada would be allowed to import fewer tariff-free vehicles. The full details of how this would be implemented were not shared.
The announcement comes during a period of uncertainty for Canada’s automotive manufacturing sector. Currently, there are five OEMs operating manufacturing operations in Canada — General Motors, Ford, Honda, Toyota and Stellantis. Of these, three — GM, Ford and Stellantis — have put a pause on north-of-the-border operations.
The state of the sector is also seen as something of a weak spot for Canada’s governing Liberal Party.
Earlier in the campaign, Carney pledged to invest $2 billion in order to improve the strength of the sector’s supply chain.
On April 15, Carney’s government worked quickly to quash unfounded rumours that Honda was considering ending its local operations.
