Retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on Canadian canola causes uncertainty for Manitoba farmers

Tessa Adamski · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 10, 2025 6:03 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

A Manitoba husbandman says the 100 per cent retaliatory tariffs China is putting connected canola lipid and lipid cakes are causing further uncertainty successful an agriculture manufacture dealing with the imaginable interaction of U.S. tariffs connected canola products. 

China's Commerce Ministry announced Saturday the tariffs volition spell into effect connected March 20 successful retaliation for Canada's 100 per cent tariffs connected Chinese-made electrical vehicles and a 25 per cent levy connected Chinese aluminum and alloy products imposed connected Oct. 1.

Bruce Dalgarno, who farms canola and different crops near Newdale, Man., astir 225 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, said Canada exports astir 2.5 cardinal tonnes of lipid cakes to China each year, which is utilized to provender livestock oregon beryllium crushed into lipid meal.

A simplification successful the shipments volition use unit connected atom elevator companies to little the terms of canola and export it to different countries, which volition interaction profitability for farmers, Dalgarno said.

"I deliberation there's tons of farmers [who] are going to beryllium looking astatine their …  input costs, due to the fact that input costs connected canola are the highest of immoderate harvest we've got, truthful arsenic the terms comes down, it becomes uncompetitive," helium said. 

Canada lone ships astir 600 tonnes of canola lipid to China per year, truthful that tariff apt won't person a immense interaction connected the Canadian economy, Dalgarno said.

Currently determination are nary tariffs connected canola effect from Canada, which exports betwixt 5 cardinal and six cardinal tonnes to China per year, helium said.

China is Canada's second-largest trading partner, pursuing the U.S., which has imposed 25 per cent tariffs connected Canada, Mexico and China, though U.S. President Trump paused immoderate tariffs imposed connected Canadian goods, including canola products, until April 2.

Canola lipid exports to the U.S. unsocial made up astatine slightest $1.3 cardinal of Manitoba's system successful 2023, and was 1 of the apical 5 exports that year, according to a Manitoba Bureau of Statistics summary.

"The tariffs successful the States, I think, are going to person a larger interaction than immoderate tariffs coming from China now, and that's hoping that they don't alteration it to thing else. Like if they besides included the effect going into China, well, that would beryllium adjacent much damaging," Dalgarno said. 

Warren Ellis, president of the Manitoba Canola Growers Association, which has astir 7,500 members successful the province, said immoderate other costs volition straight impact the wealth successful farmers' pockets and however overmuch they tin merchantability their canola effect for.

"Their lone enactment is to effort to chopped costs ... so we conscionable anticipation similar heck that the inputs that we're going to beryllium utilizing travel down successful terms slightly, truthful that it volition let america to person immoderate benignant of margin," Ellis said. 

Seed, canola lipid and lipid cakes relationship for $5 cardinal worthy of Canadian exports to China, portion exports to the U.S. full $8 billion, helium said. 

Ellis said farmers are utilized to dealing with adversity successful the industry, "but determination are limits and determination volition beryllium immoderate collateral damage."

The relation volition lobby the provincial and national governments to code the effects connected Manitoba's agriculture assemblage of the tariffs connected Chinese-made electrical vehicles, helium said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said successful August that Ottawa was imposing the levies to antagonistic what helium called China's intentional state-directed argumentation of over-capacity. Canada followed the pb of the United States and the European Union, some of which person besides applied import levies to Chinese-made electrical vehicles. 

On Friday, the national authorities announced immoderate tariff alleviation measures for Canadian businesses and workers, including $1 cardinal successful caller financing done Farm Credit Canada to trim fiscal barriers for the Canadian agriculture and nutrient industry.

"The national authorities should surely beryllium determination to backstop the Canadian agriculture assemblage and the canola growers, due to the fact that we're the ones taking the hit," Dalgarno said. 

"It's each causing a batch of uncertainty successful the industry."

Chris Davison, president and CEO of the Canola Council of Canada, said retaliatory tariffs from China are expected to person a "widespread and antagonistic impact" crossed the industry.

The full economical interaction connected the Canadian system from the canola assemblage is much than $43 cardinal annually, helium said. 

Davison expects the tariffs volition restrict oregon adjacent the canola marketplace betwixt Canada and China. 

"We advocator and are beardown supporters of having, you know, predictable tariff-free trade. We deliberation that's the champion way forward, not conscionable for Canadian canola, but for Canadian agriculture and agri-food," helium said. 

"We are going to request the Canadian authorities to prosecute precise systematically and substantively with our commercialized spouse China successful this instance, successful bid to resoluteness this issue."

China volition besides use a 25 per cent work connected Canadian aquatic products and pork, the Chinese ministry said successful a statement.