China lodges consultation request to Canada at WTO over tariff hikes

BEIJING -- China on Friday put forward a consultation request to Canada at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over Canada's plan to impose surtaxes on electric vehicles as well as steel and aluminum products imported from China, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

In violation of its WTO commitments, Canada's plan to impose 100 percent surtaxes on Chinese-made electric vehicles and 25 percent on steel and aluminum products represents a typical example of unilateralism and trade protectionism, a spokesperson with the ministry said.

Canada's move severely undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system, and disrupts global industrial and supply chains in industries such as electric vehicles, steel and aluminum, all of which China firmly opposes, the spokesperson said.

As a staunch supporter of and important contributor to the multilateral trading system, China urges Canada to abide by the WTO rules and rectify its erroneous actions immediately, according to the spokesperson.