Saskatchewan premier says Chinese canola tax 'most urgent' tariff facing province

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Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says whoever emerges as prime minister after the federal election must prioritize the removal of Chinese tariffs imposed on Canadian canola.

The 100-per-cent import tariff on canola oil and meal “is likely the most urgent and most significant tariff impacting the Saskatchewan economy today,” Moe said in a speech at the Food, Fuel, Fertilizer Global Summit in Regina on Tuesday.

The summit is hosted by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce and focuses on the province’s role in global markets, with a specific eye to agriculture, mining and energy.

China implemented retaliatory tariffs in March after Canada imposed 100-per-cent import levies on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) and a 25-per-cent tax on aluminum and steel. The U.S. has placed similar tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, aluminum and steel.

As of Tuesday, each of Canada’s two largest trade partners — the U.S. and China — had instituted tariffs that impact Saskatchewan exports. Canada’s third-largest trade partner is India.

Calls to address Chinese tariffs

Moe said he’s asked Prime Minister Mark Carney to reach out to Chinese President Xi Jinping and for Canada to scrap the tariffs on EVs.

“We’ve been in contact with the Canadian ambassador to China, the Chinese ambassador to Canada and we have formally now contacted and written letters to a number of sub-national leaders in China,” said Moe following his speech.

Moe added that, to his knowledge, Carney has not called the Chinese president but he continues to encourage the prime minister to do so. In the meantime, Moe says he doesn’t plan on a trade mission to China but would “never rule it out” considering it is a “significant export market.”

NDP Leader Carla Beck spoke to the media after Moe, pointing out that threats from China were broadcast in 2024 and she felt more could have been done in the interim to ease tensions.

“This is something that had been threatened since August,” said Beck on Tuesday. “I think that’s something that should have had more attention by now.”

Trade policy volatile

While Moe highlighted the tariffs coming from China, U.S. trade policy remains unpredictable and volatile.

Moe said while the tone of conversations regarding trade with the U.S. has changed in recent months, he feels it will return to the way it once was.

“When the dust settles … they’re still going to be our largest trading partner and they’re still going to be our largest source of imports,” he said.

Beck wants to see trade relations return to normal as well, but she feels things have changed.

“There isn’t anyone who doesn’t hope that we return to some somewhat more normal relationships with the United States,” she said. “But we can’t be complacent.”

alsalloum@postmedia.com

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