Sask. ministers write letter to feds over canola investigation

China’s apparent retaliation over the federal government’s imposition of tariffs on electric vehicles has raised the ire of Saskatchewan’s Ministers of Trade and Export Development, and Agriculture.

Jeremy Harrison and David Marit have penned a letter to their federal counterparts warning of the impending disaster if China proceeds with an anti-dumping investigation on Canadian canola. The communique from China came just days after the Canadian government imposed 100 per cent tariffs on the goods.

The letter cautioned that Saskatchewan has been impacted by similar moves in the past. In 2018, a Chinese market access ban resulted in marked decreases in exports of canola across the country. From 2018 to 2019, canola seed exports from Saskatchewan to China fell by over $1 billion.

The ministers expanded the impact in the letter. Saskatchewan’s imports to China last year totalled $5.5 billion, with the key three being canola at $2 billion, potash at $908.3 million and peas at $576.2 million.

“We are disappointed that once again Saskatchewan will be negatively impacted by Chinese retaliation,” the letter stated. “We are working closely with industry to understand the full impact of these actions over the coming days.”

The ministers encourage active engagement with Chinese official to resolve the matter as quickly as possible, and they expressed and expectation to be involved in those efforts.

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