Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday evening the federal government’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from China has gone into effect. The prime minister made the announcement on the eve of a caucus meeting where he’ll face dozens of Liberal MPs who reportedly have signed a letter calling for his resignation. “Chinese overcapacity floods the international market with cheap steel and aluminum,” wrote Trudeau in his announcement on social media. The prime minister said Beijing’s “unfair trade practices put Canadian workers at a disadvantage” and his Liberal minority government is “taking action.” Finance Chrystia Freeland’s department released a final list of steel and aluminum products from China subject to the 25% surtax. .Freeland says feds prepared to battle China in tariff war .On August 26, Trudeau said Canada will impose the tariffs, along with 100% tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, after the United States earlier in the spring had imposed tariffs on Chinese-made critical minerals, electric vehicle batteries, semiconductors and solar cells. “Actors like China have chosen to give themselves an unfair advantage in the global marketplace,” said Trudeau at the time.When a reporter asked if he believes Canada “will need to go further with its tariffs,” Trudeau replied, “We are looking at further measures.”“We are looking into chips, solar cells, issues like that.”After the initial announcement in August, Freeland said the federal government expects retaliation from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and is prepared to battle China in a tariff war. “Of course Canada needs to be ready for all manner of reactions and we are,” Freeland told reporters.“But our starting point is we have to do, and will do, what is in the national interest, what Canadians require.”“The reality is China has an intentional, state-directed policy of over-capacity and over-supply designed to cripple our own industry.”Beijing a week later on September 3 launched an anti-dumping investigation on Canadian imports, including canola oil. As the Western Standard earlier reported, China in 2023 imported CA$5 billion, 5.5 million tons, of canola. A whopping 94% of that was from Canada."China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the discriminatory unilateral restrictive measures taken by Canada against its imports from China despite the opposition and dissuasion of many parties," said a spokesperson from China’s Ministry of Commerce. "Canada's canola exports to China have increased significantly and are suspected of dumping, reaching US$3.47 billion in 2023, with a 170% year-on-year increase in volume and a continuous decline in prices.”"Affected by the unfair competition of the Canadian side, China's domestic rapeseed-related industries continued to suffer losses.”.Beijing to launch anti-dumping investigation on Canadian imports in response to EV tariffs
