The timing of the tariffs doesn’t seem to be just a coincidence.
News Analysis
Just as Canada worked to change US tariffs last week, China put pressure on the March 8 weekend, knocking new tariffs on Canadian produce and food later this month.
However, the timing of China’s tariffs doesn’t seem to be a coincidence after Canada placed a US-matched tax on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) and other products in October last year.
China’s state media CCTV is running an commentary that Washington intends to instruct Canada to raise pressure on Beijing and not side with the US.
Comments by some Canadian officials show how this obvious tactic is being received.
China’s tariffs
China announced tariffs on Canadian goods worth US$2.6 billion on March 8, in order to be effective on March 8th. The duties will be 100% on imports of canola oil, oil cakes and peas, and 25% on aquatic and pork products.
The move comes after Canada imposes 100% tariffs on Chinese-made EVs and 25% tariffs on effective aluminum and steel products in October last year, following the US lead.
Shortly after Ottawa first announced tariffs last August, Beijing began a dumping prevention investigation into Canadian canola imports. The latest China rate in Canada comes from a domestic “non-discrimination” investigation that said it began last September.
Ottawa called the tariff “unjust” and supported Canadian businesses in “fair rules-based” trade, stating that Canada would “ensure a level playing field,” rejecting the basis for China’s investigation.
Target: China
US President Donald Trump began taking stances against China during his first term in office, and he appears to be poised to escalate measures in his second term.
Trump criticised China’s “year of unfair trade practices” including dumping, forced technology transfer, capacity and industrial subsidies, imposed several tariffs on the country on its first presidency, covering US$360 billion worth of Chinese products by 2019. China retaliated several times, bringing both countries closer to a trade war.
Trump cited China’s dumping practices as a major concern as he announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in March 2018, including imports from Canada and Mexico. On March 27, they tried to discourage Trump from including Canada to crack down on aluminum dumping from countries like steel and aluminum. US tariffs in Canada were eventually removed in May 2019 after Canada acquired its own retaliatory fee against the United States.
Joe Biden maintained Trump tariffs in China during his presidential term and expanded them in some regions.
His administration announced higher tariff rates in China in May 2024. This included increasing EV duties to 100%, increasing to 50% for semiconductors and solar cells and 25% for aluminum and steel products.
Canada immediately followed the lawsuit, saying in August it would impose a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs from October 1st and a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum products from October 15th.
The move was in the US movement and Lockstep. Canada was previously used to the US administration regarding EVs that Ottawa had invested heavily in the early days of Biden’s presidency. In 2021, when Biden proposed a tax credit for American-made EVs, Canada threatened retaliation, saying that the US tax credit would put Canadian manufacturers at a disadvantage and violate the US Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement. Washington and Ottawa ultimately reached a resolution leveling the field of Canadian manufacturers.
The European Union also brought tariffs on China’s EVs in October last year.
In Trump’s second term, amidst the turmoil of off-age tariffs he dealt with in Canada and Mexico, the only country-specific tariffs experienced without change was in China.
On February 3, he advanced an order on February 4 that would impose an additional 10% tariff on China in addition to existing Chinese import taxes as Trump announced a 30-day suspension to encompass 25% tariffs in Canada and Mexico.
Then, on March 4th, the suspension ended with tariffs in Canada and Mexico, and as those taxes went ahead, Trump simultaneously increased Chinese tariffs to 20%. However, the next day he suspended tariffs on the North American automotive sector for a month, and the following day he suspended tariffs on products that fall under the USMCA for a month.
I’ll work with us
While trying to hold their breath amid the gust of the US tariff announcement, Canadian Cabinet Ministers and Prime Ministers signalled the Trump administration that both countries should be aligned to target China on their behalf.
Finance Minister Dominique LeBlanc said on March 7 that Canada wanted to work with the US to stop China from dumping it into North American markets. His comments come after Canada announced it was maintaining tariffs on US products worth $30 billion as it suspended retaliation fees for US products worth $125 billion and the US suspended some of its tariffs.
Canada announced further retaliation measures against the United States on March 12, targeting US goods worth $29.8 billion. On the same day, the US advanced 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel in all countries, including Canada.
Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told us that while visiting Washington in January to discourage Americans from using tariffs on Canada, their country should use Canadian support and partnerships to achieve energy control and stand up to China.
“Beyond friendship and our economic partnership, we are a steady partner on the world stage. This is more important than ever these days, given the increasingly aggressive behavior of certain international actors, including China,” Wilkinson said on January 15th.
Foreign Minister Melanie Jolly said on February 28 that Ottawa is accepting a proposal by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent that Canada should match China’s tariffs. Becent made comments during an interview with Bloomberg after suggesting that Mexico coincided with Chinese tariffs. The three countries said, “We can form a “North American fortress” from floods of Chinese imports” and “it would be a great gesture.”
Some Canadian Prime Ministers use even stronger words.
Shortly after Trump’s election, when he first began talking about tariffs in Canada, Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged the US to sign another free trade agreement with Canada other than the USMCA, saying Mexico is acting as a “backdoor” for Chinese products.
“If Mexico does not fight transshipment by at least matching Canadian and US tariffs on Chinese imports, they shouldn’t sit at the table or enjoy access to the world’s largest economy,” Ford said.
Speaking as chairman of the Federal Council on behalf of the Prime Minister in the second half of November, he said that all Prime Ministers are working with him on the idea that Canada would sign a bilateral deal with the US, as they know that Mexico brings in cheap Chinese parts, hits out the made-in-Mexico stickers, transports the US and Canada, and locks them in.
Alberta Prime Minister Daniel Smith made a similar comment to Americans in January, saying, “We can further strengthen our partnership over the next few years by securing our shared borders and fighting unfair Chinese trade practices that hurt our country’s workers.”
China’s response to tariffs
But if China’s new tariffs in Canada are designed to rethink their U.S. partnership with Beijing, the impact will vary.
BC Premier David Ebby on March 10 asked Ottawa to reconsider its tariff policy, saying that Canada’s tariffs on China were ineffective. He said China’s tariffs were having a major impact on his state and asked Ottawa to take action to ensure Canada was not “crushed” between the US and China’s economy.
Saskatchewan Prime Minister Scott Moe pointed out that Ottawa has taken many steps to combat U.S. tariffs without necessarily saying they support them, and asked why the federal government doesn’t respond to Chinese tariffs that it says will disproportionately affect western states.
Mark Carney, who was quickly appointed prime minister to replace Justin Trudeau, said Americans would maintain Canadian tariffs until “show us respect.” He also calls the conflict with the United States “the greatest crisis of our life.”
In a social media post, Mo said “it depends on thousands of jobs to produce and process canola in western Canada,” and asked Carney what his plans are with regard to Chinese tariffs.
“Whether they agreed to the federal response to US trade actions or not, there is no doubt that they took action and responded quickly as they should,” he wrote. “But when it’s a Western Canadian industry like Canola, it’s under attack from Chinese tariffs…cricket.”
So far, neither Trudeau nor Kearney have commented on Chinese tariffs.
However, Industry Minister François Philippe Champagne said Canada will maintain tariffs on China’s EVs and steel and aluminum.
In an interview with CTV’s Power Play program on March 12, Champagne was asked whether Canada is reconsidering its stance towards China considering the current situation.
Champagne specifically narrowed his response to the previously announced Canadian tariffs, saying “it’s not about tariffs.”
“We will never be the back door to cheap Chinese vehicles that are oversubsidized and do not respect labor or environmental law,” he said. “They are dumping North American steel and you see these cheap cars coming here.”
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said Canada needs to diversify its market.
“Exporters are worried as the addition of tariffs from China on seafood is added. We are actively working to find a new market for world-class seafood,” he said on March 12.
China previously banned several Canadian imports in 2019 after Howay enforcer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018 in a US extradition request. After Meng’s release in 2021, the ban was lifted in 2022.
