Canada’s shipbuilding industry has called on the country’s government to do more to protect it from competition in China and impose a 100% surtax on all Chinese-built ships imported into Canada.
The Canadian Marine Industries and Shipbuilding Association (CMISA) said the Chinese shipbuilding market represented a “strategic and ethical threat” to the domestic industry and called for “decisive measures” to protect Canadian shipbuilders.
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CMISA President and CEO Colin Cooke described working conditions and environmental standards at Chinese shipyards as “notoriously poor” and said: “I would note that Canada has an exceptional workforce and strong companies who are ready and capable of building high-quality ships for Canadians.
“We owe it to Canadians to ensure that our critical infrastructure is built and maintained domestically, especially in light of the issues that global supply chains have been facing of late.”
Cooke also expressed disappointment in a leasing contract signed by state-owned ferry operator Marine Atlantic with Stena for a ferry built in Weihai, China and said the crown corporation should work with the local industry on developing a new ferry to replace the existing ship when its lease ends in five years.
Cooke’s comments come amid growing opposition to China’s dominant manufacturing industry, with Canada itself part of a growing list of countries to impose restrictions on Chinese-built electric vehicles and US President Joe Biden recently saying he would take a “real hard look” at the country’s shipbuilding sector.
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By GlobalDataChina’s shipbuilding industry has rapidly become the largest in the world, largely thanks to a state investment programme supporting the sector since the early 2000s. It currently accounts for 50% of all merchant tonnage produced each year, up from 5% in 1999.
The country’s rapid rise to the top has also attracted criticism though with the US launching an investigation into its alleged use of nonmarket practices to undermine international competition.
Canada has already taken some steps to bolster its local shipbuilding industry and earlier this year joined the US and Finland in the ICE pact to build new icebreaker vessels domestically and drive shipping business in the polar regions in the face of Chinese and Russian competition.
