China opened a new front in a trade war partly fueled by US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats on Saturday when it slapped tariffs on more than $2.6 billion worth of Canadian food and agricultural exports, retaliating against levies Ottawa introduced in October.
The commerce ministry announced the charges, which are set to go into effect on March 20. These levies are similar to the 100% and 25% import duties Canada imposed just over four months ago on steel and aluminum items as well as electric vehicles made in China.
Beijing may be keeping the door open for trade discussions by ignoring canola, also known as rapeseed, which was one of Canada’s top exports to the world’s top agricultural importer before China looked into it for anti-dumping last year.
