Amid production cuts and layoffs in Canada caused by recently imposed US tariffs, General Motors‘ CEO Mary Barra has criticized Ottawa’s tariff deal with China, which she says is counter to building a strong North American manufacturing footprint.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the Detroit automaker’s chief executive sees the deal as a risk to “protecting jobs and national security” on the continent.
“I can’t explain why the decision was made in Canada,” Barra said during an internal meeting with employees on Tuesday, according to the outlet. “It becomes a very slippery slope.”
Canada signed a deal this month with China that lets up to 49,000 electric vehicles be imported each year at a reduced tariff of 6.1%, in exchange for lower rates on agricultural goods exports.
The agreement has attracted criticism from politicians and automakers, both in the US and Canada, who flagged similar concerns to those of Barra.
Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford called it an attack on the Canadian auto industry and warned that the deal could jeopardize Canada’s trade relationship with the US, its largest export market for vehicles.
According to the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the deal could complicate renegotiations of the USMCA trade agreement later this year.
The US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that Canada will “look back at this decision and surely regret it to bring Chinese cars into their market.”
GM in Canada
Despite recent decisions to relocate production to the US, Detroit automakers still rely on Canada for both manufacturing and sales.
Last year, Ford Motor Co., GM and Stellantis sold over 700,000 vehicles in Canada.
As of mid-2025, GM produced about 30% of vehicles entering the US market in Mexico and Canada.
Barra’s comments on the deal came just hours after GM confirmed it will go ahead with the previously announced layoff of 750 workers at its Oshawa plant.
The layoffs, first announced last May, had been delayed due to strong demand for the Chevrolet Silverado pickup, which is assembled there.
An additional 1,500 workers across the supply chain are also expected to be affected.
Last year, GM‘s CEO revealed at the third-quarter earnings call that the company was halting “BrightDrop production at CAMI Assembly,” which also affected over 1,000 jobs.
Both factories are located in Ontario, Canada.
GM in China
The report also noted that Barra considers Chinese automakers benefit from China’s high tariffs and technology restrictions that prevent other players from entering the market.
Despite that, and according to figures shared by GM, the company sold nearly 1.9 million vehicles in China last year, with new energy vehicles (NEV) accounting for more than half of its total sales in the country.
These 1.9 million vehicles represent nearly 30% of the total 6.2 million vehicles sold globally by the company.
In 2025, GM achieved growth in both retail sales and market share in China.
“The positive results were achieved with dedication to product excellence and disciplined actions on production and inventory,” said John Roth, Senior VP and the President of GM China.
GM has achieved profitability in the Chinese market for five consecutive quarters.
Its recovery in the Chinese market — where competition is intense, particularly among new energy vehicle brands — is largely due to its ‘localization’ strategy, which involved giving the Chinese team greater decision-making authority, according to 36Kr.
