The move appears to be a retaliatory measure against the huge customs surcharges imposed by Ottawa on imported Chinese electric vehicles.
China announced Tuesday that it will launch an anti-dumping investigation into Canadian canola, an apparent retaliatory measure for Ottawa’s massive tariffs on imported Chinese electric vehicles. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in late August a 100% tariff surcharge on Chinese electric vehicle imports starting in October in the name of a supposed “unfair competition”He also said Ottawa will impose a 25% surtax on Chinese steel and aluminum imports starting October 15.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Tuesday that it “will open an anti-dumping investigation into imported rapeseed from Canada”. In fact, this investigation mainly targets “canola”, a plant related to rapeseed and developed in Canada. It is mainly used as an edible oil. According to Beijing, Canadian rapeseed exports to China “have increased significantly”to the tune of 3.47 billion dollars (3.14 billion euros) in 2023, with prices that “continued to fall”.
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“Canadian unfair competition”
Canadian exporters are thus “suspected of dumping” on the Chinese market, the ministry believes. This practice consists of selling abroad at prices lower than those practiced on the national market and therefore distorting competition. “Hit by unfair Canadian competition, Chinese rapeseed industries continue to suffer losses”the ministry said, and it is considering taking the matter to the World Trade Organization (WTO). China “will take all necessary measures to defend legitimate rights and interests” of his companies, he stressed.
The Canadian surtax will target cars, trucks, buses, as well as electric delivery vans and some hybrid models. Relations between Ottawa and Beijing have been at loggerheads for several years, particularly since the Huawei crisis and the arrest in 2018 of Meng Wanzhou, the Chinese group’s chief financial officer, followed by the imprisonment in China of two Canadian citizens.
The United States and the European Union (EU) have also imposed tariffs of 100% and up to 36% respectively on Chinese electric vehicles. Brussels believes that the prices of Chinese vehicles are artificially low due to state subsidies that distort the market and harm the competitiveness of European manufacturers.
