Will Canadian farmers and seafood producers get a break on damaging tariffs when Carney visits China next week?
Prime Minister Mark Carney, pictured speaking with Federal Chancellor of Germany Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz. Carney will be travelling to China Jan. 13-17 in an effort to diversify trade. / TWITTER PHOTO
Canadian farmers and seafood producers will be watching carefully to see if Prime Minister Mark Carney will manage to reduce damaging Chinese tariffs when he makes a groundbreaking official visit to Beijing next week.
The stakes are high for the Canadian economy as Carney tries to renew Ottawa’s tattered relations with China and help shift Canada’s trade dependence away from the U.S.
Carney will hold discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials, as well as business executives, on trade, agriculture, energy and international security, the PMO said.
China ranks as Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S., with annual trade of nearly $118 billion. But bilateral relations, which years ago were good enough to prompt speculation about a free-trade pact, have badly deteriorated in the past decade.
Besides lasting diplomatic bad blood over Beijing’s detention of two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, the two countries have more recently plunged into a tariff standoff. In 2024, as part of the federal government’s efforts to harmonize trade policy with the Americans, Canada brought in tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum. In response, China put import duties on Canadian canola and seafood products.
In concert with the U.S., Carney has also introduced additional measures to reduce Chinese steel imports. The situation has been a problem for the federal government as it tries to keep the premiers united in the Team Canada approach to the trade war with Washington. The tariff battle with Beijing has put the interests of western farmers in conflict with Ontario’s car industry.
It will be the first official visit to China by a Canadian prime minister in nearly a decade. “At a time of global trade disruption, Canada is focused on building a more competitive, sustainable, and independent economy. We’re forging new partnerships around the world to transform our economy from one that has been reliant on a single trade partner, to one that is stronger and more resilient to global shocks. We’re creating new partnerships in energy and trade, attracting massive new investment, and securing more opportunities for Canadians,” Carney said in a press release about his trip.
