Chinese tariffs on $3.7 billion of Canadian agricultural goods and food products took effect on March 20, several months after Canada imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) and metals.
The Chinese tariffs were implemented shortly after midnight, imposing a 100 percent levy on Canadian imports of canola oil, oil cakes, and peas, along with a 25 percent tax on pork and seafood products.
Beijing first announced the levies on March 8, four months after Canada imposed 100 percent tariffs on Chinese EVs and 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum products. At the time of the tariff announcement last August, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said China had a state-directed policy of over-capacity, adding that Ottawa was following similar measures by the United States and the European Union.
Beijing launched an anti-dumping probe into Canadian canola imports after the tariffs were announced. The investigation is still underway. China has said it’s recent tariffs targeting Canada are linked to the “anti-discrimination” investigation, while Ottawa argues that such tariffs are without merit.
Canada exported $47 billion worth of goods to China in 2024, with more than half of Canada’s canola exports going to the country. China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner, after the United States.
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has voiced his concern about the Chinese tariffs on canola exports, noting the importance of the product to his home province of Saskatchewan.
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“We obviously need to work with Saskatchewan and with the farming community to help us diversify our trading relationships and to ideally work to see how we can actually get the tariffs taken off,” he said during a March 19 media scrum in Ottawa.
Agriculture Minister Kody Blois said he has been holding discussions with International Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc on “ways to make sure that we have mechanisms in place to support those impacted [canola] producers.”
“Obviously, we don’t agree with the decision in terms of where China is moving in terms of its anti-discrimination case, but we’ll be there to help support Canadian producers,” he said.
The latest tariffs took effect a day after Global Affairs Canada announced that China executed four Canadians earlier this year. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said four Chinese-Canadian dual citizens were among those executed in early 2025, but said she could provide no further details.
The tariffs also come amid Canada’s ongoing trade war with the United States. The country placed 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods on March 4, before announcing a one-month pause of tariffs on exports compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
The United States also plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on all countries beginning on April 2. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said the country is preparing to give Canada a specific tariff rate, and then give it an opportunity to avoid the levies by lowering its own tariffs or addressing the administration’s concerns.
