BEIJING: China has announced it plans to start an anti-dumping probe into canola imports from Canada, following Ottawa moved to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, sending prices of local rapeseed oil futures to a one-month peak.
Ottawa has followed the lead of Washington and European Union (EU), and announced last week a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles and a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminium from Beijing.
A commerce ministry spokesperson stated that Beijing strongly deplores and opposes the discriminatory unilateral actions taken by Canada against its imports from China despite the disapproval of many parties.
Canada is the world’s top exporter of canola, used in biofuel and food. China is the world’s biggest oilseed purchaser. The ministry said that affected by the unfair competition of the Canadian side, China’s local rapeseed-related industries continued to suffer losses. Beijing will initiate an anti-dumping probe into some Canadian chemical items, the spokesperson said.
Beijing intends to resort to the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism for Canada’s relevant practices, the spokesperson further said.
