Chinese tariffs on Canadian agricultural products kick in

Chinese tariffs on Canadian products including rapeseed oil and pork come into effect Thursday, with an industry lobby warning the new levies will have a “devastating impact” on farmers.

The tariffs — announced this month — follow a Beijing probe into levies imposed by Ottawa on Chinese goods last year.

They hit rapeseed oil, oil cakes, and peas imported from Canada with a 100 percent surcharge.

Canada is among the world’s top producers of canola — a rapeseed crop that is used to make cooking oil, animal feed and biodiesel fuel — and China has historically been one of its largest customers.

Aquatic products and pork, meanwhile, will face a 25 percent levy.

Canadian industry leaders have warned they would be hit hard by the fresh tariffs.

“New tariffs from China on Canadian canola oil and meal will have a devastating impact on canola farmers and the broader value chain at a time of increased trade and geopolitical uncertainty,” said Chris Davison, President of the Canola Council of Canada.

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“We urge the federal government to immediately engage with China, with a view to resolving this issue,” he said.

The fresh tariffs come as both Canada and China face deepening trade tensions with the US, which under President Donald Trump has rolled out stiff new tariffs.

Ottawa in August placed 100 percent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports — matching US measures seeking to fend off a flood of Chinese state-subsidised cars into North America.

It also announced a surcharge on imports of steel and aluminum products from China.

Beijing’s commerce ministry said a probe into these measures found that Canadian policies “disrupted the normal trade order and harmed the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises”.

In Beijing, some residents told AFP they were supportive of China’s tariffs on goods from other countries.

“China has become strong and doesn’t need to rely on others for everything,” Zheng Ruitao, a Beijing resident in his thirties, said.

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“For me personally, it has not much impact, the impact might be on the country,” Song Qing, another Beijing resident, told AFP.

Ties between Beijing and Ottawa plunged into a deep freeze for several years from 2018, when Canada detained Meng Wanzhou, a top executive from Chinese tech giant Huawei, prompting Beijing to arrest two Canadian nationals in retaliation.

Source: AFP