TRADE WARS
Saskatchewan premier to go to China in bid to end canola tariffs
By David Ljunggren and Ed White
OTTAWA (Reuters) -Scott Moe, premier of the major grain-growing Canadian province of Saskatchewan, said on Thursday he will travel to China soon for talks to persuade Beijing to drop new tariffs on canola.
China hit Canadian canola seed imports with preliminary 75.8% duties last week following an anti-dumping investigation, escalating a year-long trade dispute. China is by far Canada's biggest canola seed market.
Canadian Federal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald also pledged support for farmers and the industry, which says it employs 200,000 people and produces C$43 billion in economic value.
"We're working diligently alongside them," MacDonald said in a phone interview after the meeting ended.
Canada, the world's largest exporter of canola, shipped almost C$5 billion ($3.63 billion) of canola products to China in 2024, about 80% of which was seed. The steep duties on canola seed, if they remain in place, would likely all but end those Chinese imports.
China objected when Canada imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles a year ago, and launched an anti-dumping investigation into canola seed shortly thereafter. In February, it imposed a tariff on Canadian canola oil and meal, as well as a number of other agricultural products.
This month's addition of canola seed to China's tariff targets came shortly after Canada imposed tariffs on steel in July, which also upset Beijing.
"Myself will be in China in the next couple of weeks with potentially another opportunity for engagement before the end of the calendar year," Moe told a news conference after a meeting with industry officials and MacDonald. Moe also reiterated a call for federal aid for the industry.
MacDonald said it was too early to decide what help farmers might need, but "it could be there some day" if the dispute drags on.
He added that it was difficult to assess all of China's motives in the dispute.
"You're dealing with a partner that you're not 100% sure all of the time what their prerogatives are. Are they just political, or is it something else?" MacDonald said.
($1 = 1.3905 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Ed White in Winnipeg; Editing by Mark Porter and Edmund Klamann)
China launches WTO dispute with Canada on steel and aluminum surtaxes
BERLIN (Reuters) -China has requested dispute consultations at the World Trade Organization regarding Canadian surtaxes and quotas on steel and aluminum goods, the WTO said on Wednesday.
The disputed measures include a surtax in the form of tariff-rate quotas on certain steel imports originating from Canada's non-free trade agreement partners, including China, a notice from the WTO said.
China is also challenging a surtax on certain goods that contain steel or aluminum originating from China, it added.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, trying to protect the domestic steel industry, last month said Canada would implement 25% tariffs on steel imports from all countries containing steel melted and poured in China before the end of July.
"We will not hesitate to act when our industries are threatened by unfair practices," said Huzaif Qaisar, a spokesman for Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu.
"These measures are a direct response to China's over capacity and non-market behavior, which are undermining Canada’s steel sector and threatening Canadian jobs," he said by email.
(Writing by Rachel More in Berlin and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Madeline Chambers and Diane Craft)
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