China’s ambassador to Canada, Wang Di, says the solution is simple: if Canada drops the EV tariff, China will remove its agricultural tariffs. But Canada may not need to go that far.

China cannot easily replace millions of tonnes of high-quality Canadian seed. Imports from India and Australia don’t match the volume or quality, and Chinese futures markets are already showing strain. If farmers can weather the chill, Canada may have more leverage than expected.

...

Canadians can’t ignore China’s human rights abuses, from the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang to the crackdown in Hong Kong. And trading dependence on Washington for reliance on Beijing is hardly a cure-all. Any deal must be negotiated from a position of strength, with safeguards to protect Canadian workers and sovereignty.

Which brings us back to canola. China needs it. We’re willing to sell it. But we don’t have to—nor should we—give away the farm.

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[–] nik282000@lemmy.ca 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

affordable Chinese EVs

A Trojan Horse of monumental scale. China's long term goals is to run the world, they will use any opportunity they get to get economic control over other countries. Putting millions of vehicles on the road that can be disabled by the Chinese government every time we disagree is not a smart move.

And this isn't just fearmongering about Chinese tech, all modern cars have cellular modems and can be disabled to some degree by the manufacture, but China has 100% control over big businesses. If they say no commuting in Canada tomorrow, it'll happen.

[–] HertzDentalBar@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The same could be said of american products... Oh wait they already are cough john Deerecough

[–] nik282000@lemmy.ca 4 points 5 months ago

The only reason there isn't more outcry about John Deere is they have successfully painted farmers as the bad guy, trying to "steal" business away from the poor tractor corporation. Same goes for 3rd party repair techs performing "illegal" modifications to iPhones.