Beijing says it will impose tariffs on Canadian agricultural and food products in retaliation for Ottawa’s levies on Chinese electric vehicles, stoking greater uncertainty over the North American country’s economy.
China’s commerce ministry on Saturday said it would impose 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian rapeseed oil and pea imports and a 25 per cent levy on pork and some seafood imports.
It said it was responding to “discriminatory” tariffs of 100 per cent on electric vehicles and 25 per cent on steel and aluminium that Ottawa announced in August, which followed similar actions by the US.
In response, Beijing filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization and launched an anti-dumping probe into Canadian imports of rapeseed products.
China is an important market for Canadian rapeseed, a crop also known as canola. China bought $3.5bn worth of Canadian canola products, including oil and seeds, making it the largest market behind the US, according to the Canola Council of Canada trade group.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused China of “not playing by the same rules” when he announced the tariffs on Chinese EVs and metals in August. Carmaking is one of Canada’s most important manufacturing sectors, with plants supplying the US market.
I think you raise a lot of important points and am a little annoyed at the downvotes when you’re clearly participating on the level in this conversation.
I do want to add though that tarrifs in this situation are a bit of a bandaid on a bad wound that the western world allowed to fester for more than a decade now. China’s been doing some questionable stuff to gain market dominance, yes, but the west should have been answering in kind all along instead of trying to play catchup with even more questionable economic tricks.
Not reallu sure what to suggest as an alternative though. Just really a shame it was allowed to come to this when anyone with a brain ten years ago could see how important EVs would be in the future.