The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that changes in the political landscape in the United States and Canada are raising questions about the future of the tariffs that both countries raised last year on Chinese-made electric vehicles. The Post's Gabriel Friedman writes that Canada announced 100-per-cent tariffs on Chinese EVs in August, aligning its policy with the U.S., which had announced them in May. The tariffs generated controversy from the outset. Now, with Justin Trudeau and Joe Biden both exiting, all eyes are focused on U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, who made tariffs on China a defining feature of his first term in office, but who is now being advised by Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk, a vocal opponent of the tariffs on Chinese-made EVs. How Mr. Musk translates any influence on Mr. Trump into actual policies remains to be seen, but about half of Tesla's global deliveries in 2024 came from a plant in Shanghai. This week, The Washington Post said Mr. Trump is reconsidering his campaign idea for a universal tariff on all imports and instead is contemplating tariffs on select categories of goods, specifically naming batteries and battery components as one area for trade protection.
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