China offers canola relief if Liberals remove EV tariff
China is ready to walk back tariffs on Canadian canola oil and seed products if Ottawa agrees to remove its 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports, according to Beijing’s Ambassador.
China is ready to walk back tariffs on Canadian canola oil and seed products if Ottawa agrees to remove its 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports, according to Beijing’s Ambassador to Canada.
“If Canada removes the unilateral unjustified tariffs on Chinese products, China will also reciprocate accordingly,” Ambassador Wang Di told CTV News on Sunday. “And if the EV tariffs are removed, then China will also remove the tariffs on the relevant products of Canada.”
Canada implemented 100 per cent tariffs on all EVs imported from China last year, after the United States did the same.
The decision was made under the previous Trudeau government, with the aim of protecting the Canadian auto and manufacturing industry, in addition to being a matter of national security.
However, Beijing responded with 100 per cent retaliatory tariffs on canola oil exports, dealing a catastrophic blow to the Prairies, a response made clear by Wang’s recent interview.
“China’s tariffs on Canadian agricultural products are a countermeasure against the EV tariffs and the unilateral unjustified tariffs on China’s steel and aluminum products,” said Wang. “If Canada is ready to correct this practice, China will also respond accordingly.”
Saskatchewan’s canola exports to China have crashed by 76 per cent following retaliatory tariffs.
China then quietly escalated the trade dispute with Canada by imposing a 75.8 per cent tariff on canola seed and other agricultural exports in August.
Roughly 60 per cent of the province’s exports to China are related to food production and farming. China has since pivoted to Australia to secure canola supplies. China is Canada’s second-largest market for canola, worth nearly $5 billion in exports in 2024.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe called Wang’s comments a “clear signal” of how Ottawa and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand “can act this week” as she meets with officials in Beijing.
“It’s time for Ottawa to get this deal done on behalf of 200K Canadian workers,” he wrote on X.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew echoed Moe’s stance, saying that Anand must “Seize the opportunity presented by recent remarks from the Chinese ambassador to Canada.”
“He indicated that China is prepared to lift its tariffs on Canadian canola and pork if Canada removes the 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles,” wrote Kinew in a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney on Saturday.
China has previously restricted Canadian canola imports, notably in 2019, banning shipments from two major exporters during the Huawei Meng Wanzhou affair.
The Canola Council of Canada estimated the ban cost exporters $2.35 billion before it was lifted in 2020.
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