CHARLEBOIS: Dear Ottawa, you can’t eat an electric vehicle

China rarely telegraphs its diplomatic intentions so openly. Yet in recent days, Beijing has done just that — signalling that if Canada were to lift its tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles China would, in turn, remove the punitive tariffs it has placed on Canadian agricultural exports such as canola.

In the often-opaque world of trade diplomacy, such clarity is unusual. And in this case, it’s an unmistakable invitation to de-escalate. So far, Ottawa seems unwilling to take it.

This trade conflict began not in the fields of Saskatchewan or the ports of Vancouver, but in the politics of the global auto industry. In July, Canada joined the United States and the European Union in imposing 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, citing concerns over industrial overcapacity, state subsidie