When China slapped Canadian canola seed with a 75.8% tariff last week, the price immediately dropped more than $1 per bushel. While it’s still trading higher now than the 10% price drop in March after China’s first round of tariffs, it’s still a drop farmers will feel.
China’s latest canola tariffs are in retaliation for Canada imposing 100% tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and 25% tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum.
The obvious answer to getting China’s tariffs lifted on Canadian canola products is to lift our tariffs on EVs, steel and aluminum. The problem is, while the idea sounds sensible and simple, it’s not that easy.
In many ways, Canada is stuck between two economic giants involved in their own trade war. The Americans, under then-president Joe Biden, asked Canada to