Canadian farmers are weighing in as China slaps a 76% duty on the country’s largest seed oil export— canola seed.
The move follows a Chinese anti-dumping probe, but trade experts say that it is more about politics.
A former Canadian Trade Minister believes that the tariff is Beijing’s answer to Canada joining the U.S. in hitting Chinese electric vehicles with a 100% duty last fall.
According to Bill Hawkins, “Canada announced that, within one year, we would review those tariffs. And what China has done, now, about a month ahead of our one-year anniversary, is they’ve doubled down on the only remaining aspect of the canola trade, and that is on seed. It’s about $4 billion trade for Canada. They’re indicated that they could remove them at any time. Which is, of course, some strategic leverage in advance of our decision this fall as to what we’re going to do.”
This is not the first time Canada’s canola exports have been targeted. In 2019, China imposed steep duties after Canada arrested a Chinese corporate executive at the request of the Department of Justice.
Hawkins says that China could be sending a message to the U.S., via Canadian tariffs.
“They didn’t retaliate at all against the U.S., but in Canada’s case, they put very significant tariffs on our canola products to do what is refelctive of the Chinese proverb, ‘To scare the monkey, kill the chicken.’ That’s the Chinese way of saying in order to deter others, you’ve go to crack down on the best vicitim. So, they chose Canada, hitting us right where it hurts in the agricultural space. It’s entirely reflective of that,” he explains.
Hawkins went on to say that the timing could not be worse for Canadian farmers. Nearly $4 billion in annual trade now hangs in the balance, with no word on how long China will keep the tariffs in place.
