Source: Ukragroconsult (Ukraine)
Beginning Thursday, Chinese customs will impose duties of 100% on peas and rapeseed oil, along with 25% on pork and seafood imported from Canada. This decision, as stated by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, comes after an anti-discrimination investigation was conducted.
The actions are grounded in various Chinese laws concerning foreign trade, customs, and tariffs. Beijing has urged the Canadian government to approach bilateral trade and economic cooperation with reason, respect objective facts, adhere to World Trade Organization regulations, and promptly amend any erroneous actions. The Chinese government contends that Ottawa’s measures are “unilateral protectionist actions” that discriminate and violate the rights and interests of Chinese producers. Furthermore, Chinese leadership argues that such policies by Canada jeopardize the economic relations between the two nations.
In late August 2024, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared that increased tariffs, with a rate of 100% on electric vehicles, would be enacted on October 1, followed by 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from China starting in the latter half of October. China’s Ministry of Commerce responded by initiating a trade discrimination investigation on September 26, leading to the announcement of retaliatory duty hikes set for March 8, 2025.
The impact of these duties on consumers remains uncertain; however, industry experts suggest that the market price for canola oil in Canada is unlikely to rise. The Canadian federal government has denounced China’s tariffs as unwarranted, yet no concrete measures to assist canola farmers have been revealed.