SunSirs: "Cars for Canola" Proposal Sparks Policy Debate in Canada

【Global Times reporter Ni Hao; Global Times special reporter in Canada Tao Duanfang】Under pressure from the domestic canola industry, the Canadian government is reviewing the current tariff rates for products such as electric vehicles, steel, and aluminum imported from China, and has sent officials to accompany trade delegations on visits to China, in an attempt to seek opportunities to regain China's market for the country's largest agricultural export crop - canola seeds.

According to the Canadian "Globe and Mail" , from September 6th to 9th, the Governor of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, the largest rapeseed producer in Canada, Scott Moe, will lead a trade delegation to China to stop China's "punitive tariffs" on Canadian rapeseed, accompanied by Cordy Brozie, Secretary of the Canadian Parliament. Moey, at a news conference held locally on the 4th, stated that the visit to China will also involve China's tariffs on other goods such as pea starch, pork, and aquatic products, "but the most urgent is rapeseed" . Meanwhile, according to Canada's National Post, the Canadian Department of Finance is also moving forward with a review of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum products to determine whether the current rates should be maintained.

A spokesperson for the Department of Finance Canada stated that since the implementation of the tariff measures, the import volume of these related Chinese products has "dropped significantly" , and that the Canadian government had committed to reviewing these tariffs a year after the measures took effect in October of last year. On October 1, 2022, Canada followed the United States in imposing a 100% tariff on electric vehicles imported from China. On October 22 of the same year, Canada again followed the United States in imposing a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum products from China.

In response, China initiated an anti-dumping investigation on canola seeds imported from Canada on September 9, 2022, and implemented temporary anti-dumping measures starting August 14, 2025, imposing a 75.8% cash deposit on Canadian canola seeds. The Globe and Mail reported that after China imposed temporary duties, Canadian canola exports costs soared and the country lost the world's second-largest market, worth $4.9 billion, to China, leaving 40,000 canola farmers in Western Canada facing losses of tens of thousands of dollars per person. With the harvest season upon them, these farmers are also facing a decline in the market price of canola.

The report said that if the trade dispute between Canada and China is not resolved before China concludes its anti-dumping investigation, the current "Temporary tariffs" imposed as deposits could become permanent measures. In the current situation, a discussion about "car-to-sunflower" has arisen within Canada. According to the National Post, the western provinces of Canada are exerting pressure on the federal government to cancel the tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in order to avoid China's tariffs on Canadian canola seeds. The Globe and Mail reported that Moi warned before his visit to China that Canada must be cautious in this trade dispute because it has already been affected by the "Pincer attack" of China and the United States. He pointed out the American factors behind this dispute and said that it is "difficult to achieve" the understanding of the Chinese side in view of the instability of American trade policy. On September 5, the Ministry of Commerce of China announced the extension of the anti-dumping investigation period for imported rapeseed originating from Canada, to March 9, 2026.

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