The Liberal government’s declaration of war against Chinese electric vehicles shows that saving the environment has taken a back seat to industrial policy.

On Monday, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland held a highly anticipated press conference at an auto parts plant in Vaughan, Ont., where she made the case that China is engaging in an “intentional, sate-directed policy of” flooding the market with inexpensive EVs that is harming domestic producers, and promised “clear, strong, decisive action” to counter China’s “unfair competition.”