Canada mulls surtax on Chinese critical mineral products, batteries, solar products

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada said on Tuesday it was considering a potential surtax on Chinese critical mineral products, batteries and parts, solar products, and semiconductors, a move which could prompt more retaliation from Beijing.

Canada announced last month it would impose a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles and announced a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum from China.

The finance ministry said in a statement it was launching a 30-day public consultation period on the potential surtax. It ran a similar exercise before the first tariff announcement.

"Canadian workers, the auto sector, and related critical manufacturing supply chains currently face unfair competition from Chinese producers, who benefit from China's intentional, state-directed policy of overcapacity," it said.

The Chinese embassy in Ottawa was not immediately available for comment.

China, which deplored the tariffs unveiled in August, announced on Monday the start of a one-year anti-dumping investigation into imports of rapeseed from Canada.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren, Editing by William Maclean)