China announces retaliatory tariffs on some Canadian farm, food products

China announced tariffs on Canadian agricultural and food products on Saturday, retaliating against levies Ottawa introduced in October on Chinese-made electric vehicles, steel and aluminum products.

The tariffs announced by the Ministry of Commerce, to take effect on March 20, add a new front to a trade war largely driven by U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China and threats of protectionist measures on other nations.

China will apply a 100 per cent tariff on Canadian rapeseed oil, oil cakes and pea imports, and a 25 per cent duty on Canadian aquatic products and pork, the ministry said in a statement.

Canada's 100 per cent tariff on Chinese EVs and 25 per cent levy on its aluminum and steel products "seriously violate World Trade Organization rules, constitute a typical act of protectionism and are discriminatory measures that severely harm China's legitimate rights and interests," the ministry said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in August that Ottawa was imposing the levies to counter what he called China's intentional state-directed policy of over-capacity, following the lead of the United States and European Union, both of which have also applied import levies to Chinese-made EVs.

China is Canada's second-largest trading partner, trailing far behind the U.S.

'Widespread and negative impact'

Chris Davison, president and CEO of the Canola Council of Canada, told CBC News on Saturday that China's announcement "is going to have a widespread and negative impact across the Canadian canola industry."

"To say that people are anxious would be an understatement," Davison said. He added that American and Chinese markets together "typically represent over 75 per cent of Canadian global canola trade."

On Friday, the federal government announced some tariff relief measures for Canadian businesses and workers, including $1 billion in new financing through Farm Credit Canada to reduce financial barriers for the Canadian agriculture and food industry.

Davison said in the "immediate short term, there will be a need for the federal government to support the Canadian canola industry financially."

He also said there needs to be "meaningful engagement" between Ottawa and all of Canada's major trading partners.

"All markets have risks associated with them, and we need to manage those risks effectively," Davison said. "And that requires good, strong engagement between two governments in this case."