
China announces 75.8 per cent tariffs on Canadian canola
China's Ministry of Commerce published the details of the plan on Tuesday, claiming the "dumping" of Canadian canola into the Chinese market is hurting its domestic canola oil market.
The Canola Council of Canada says "anti-dumping investigations are initiated when a country suspects a product is being imported at a lower price than it is sold for in the domestic country in which it is produced.
"The CCC believes strongly that Canada's canola trade with China is aligned with international rules-based trade," says a statement on the organization's website, posted before China's announcement.
The council has not yet commented on Tuesday's tariff decision.
China's commerce ministry also said in a separate social media post Tuesday that the two countries met four days ago to discuss trade.
"The two sides had in-depth and frank exchanges on bilateral economic and trade relations and key economic and trade concerns of both sides, and exchanged views on deepening bilateral, regional, and multilateral economic and trade co-operation," the post read.
The Prime Minister's Office deferred comment on the canola tariffs to the minister of international trade, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Canada imposed a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles in October 2024, a move that is to be reviewed within one year.
Canada supplies China with most of its canola, but China currently exports very few electric vehicles to Canada.
When Canada levied tariffs on Chinese EVs last year — which are significantly less expensive than North American-made EVs, in part because of lower labour and environmental standards and state subsidies — it justified the move as protecting "the transformation and planned investments in Canada's vehicle sector."
"Actors like China have chosen to give themselves an unfair advantage in the global marketplace, compromising the security of our critical industries and displacing dedicated Canadian auto and metal workers. So, we're taking action to address that," then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time.
The Chinese EV tariff also matched a similar move made by then-U.S. president Joe Biden.
But with EV sales slumping in Canada following the abrupt ending of the government's popular Incentive for Zero-Emission Vehicle program, which provided up to $5,000 toward the cost of a new EV, environmental groups have called on Canada to revisit the Chinese EV tariff to help drive competition in the Canadian market.
"Allowing in a limited quota of these affordable vehicles while also recognizing EU-approved vehicles … would open Canada's vehicle market to fill important market gaps, drive innovation and ultimately make our auto sector more competitive,' Clean Energy Canada said back in July.
Canada has pledged to bring back some form of rebate for Canadians wanting to buy a new EV, but hasn't given a timeline for when such a measure would be implemented.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2025.
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Winnipeg Free Press
27 minutes ago
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Cision Canada
40 minutes ago
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Simons Opens First Urban Toronto Location at Yorkdale Shopping Centre Français
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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Former general says Ottawa must help former translator's family escape Taliban
OTTAWA – A former top general says it would be 'unconscionable' for Ottawa to allow the family of an Afghan translator who risked his life to help Canadian soldiers to be deported back to Afghanistan. Retired general Rick Hillier, a former chief of the defence staff, said it would be appalling if Canada failed to help the ex-translator's sister, who fled to Turkey from Afghanistan but has been denied permission to remain in that country. 'That would be unconscionable, if she ends up getting deported from Turkey and has to go back to Afghanistan to live under that brutal Taliban regime — who hate women just as a starting point,' Hillier told The Canadian Press in a recent interview. 'We can do better.' The woman and her children fled Afghanistan and the Taliban in 2018. That was too early to qualify them for a special, temporary federal policy designed to bring the extended families of former military language and cultural advisers to Canada. Now, she said she fears that she and her 22-year-old son will soon face deportation from Turkey and reprisals in Afghanistan because her brother assisted Canadian troops. Hillier said adhering too closely to the policy's strict time frame 'would be ludicrous in the extreme.' 'Let's not get stuck on a bureaucratic number,' he said, adding that the woman 'needs our support because her brother supported and served us.' The woman said she believes the Taliban killed her husband in 2013 because of her brother's work with Canadian troops. The Canadian Press has agreed to not publish the names of members of the family because of the threat posed by the Taliban. Her brother, a Canadian citizen who worked under the code name 'Sam' for the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan 15 years ago, has written letters to Immigration Minister Lena Diab and Prime Minister Mark Carney, to no avail. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said it cannot comment on specific cases due to privacy legislation. 'The government of Canada takes the safety and security of Afghans extremely seriously and we sympathize with people in this extremely difficult situation. For reasons of privacy and security, we are unable to provide specific details, even with the consent of the person in question,' said department spokesperson Danielle Hickey in an emailed statement. Sam also has raised the matter with the office of the Canadian Armed Forces Ombudsman. He said he is running out of both time and places to turn for help. Sam and two other former military language and cultural advisers — whose families also did not qualify under the policy — challenged the government over the policy in Federal Court. Their case was dismissed earlier this summer. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025.