When Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney approved the deal in January to reduce import tariffs on a small number of Chinese-made electric vehicles, U.S. President Donald Trump quickly criticized the move and threatened to slap a 100-percent tariff on vehicles coming to the U.S. from Canada.
Well, the first round of vehicles, 18 Lotus Eletre performance SUVs, are enroute to Montreal. It won’t be long before more vehicles are loaded onto ships for America’s polite neighbor (mostly) to the north.
Now Leapmotor, in partnership with Stellantis, which holds a 21-percent stake in the Chinese automaker, is now selling vehicles in Mexico. It’s not alone as MG Motor, BYD, and Chery Automobile already accounts for about 15 percent of new car sales there.
The moves, in part, are designed to set these companies up to sell vehicles in the U.S. as soon as trade rules between the two countries allow it. However, based on Trump’s initial response to Canada’s new rule, it’ll be a while.
“If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken,” Trump posted on Truth Social right after the news broke.
Chinese EVs are an impressive mix of innovative technology, strong performance, and stunning affordability — right now anyway. So we want to know: Should the Trump (or any) administration lower tariffs on Chinese vehicles to allow them to be sold in the U.S. … and would you buy one?
[Images: Lotus, MG, White House]
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via Autobuzz Today
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