China extends Canadian canola probe until March 2026

China extended its probe into imports of Canadian commercial canola on Friday, delaying talks for another six months that could ease a yearlong trade dispute sparked by Ottawa’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. China’s Commerce Ministry said the anti-dumping probe would run until March 9, 2026, citing the complexity of the case, Reuters reported.

Beijing, the world’s largest canola importer, imposed preliminary duties of 75.8% on Canadian canola seed imports in August. A final court ruling could result in the rate being changed or overturned, the newspaper noted.

Canada’s Agriculture Minister Heath Macdonald said in an interview that his government hoped China’s actions would buy both sides more time to resolve trade tensions, and announced new measures to support Canada’s canola industry, including subsidies for domestic biofuel production, a pledge to improve biofuel regulation to spur investment, and subsidized loans for canola producers.

Canada, the world’s largest canola exporter, shipped nearly C$5 billion (US$3.63 billion) worth of canola products to China in 2024, about 80% of which was seed. The high tariffs on canola seed, if left in place, would likely virtually eliminate those imports.

China, which relies almost entirely on Canada for its canola seed, also imposed tariffs on canola oil and meal in March. Canada, for its part, has imposed tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum.

Ottawa is increasingly concerned about losing a key customer, especially as China appears to be shifting its focus to Australian supplies. Supplies have resumed five years after being banned from the Chinese market.

Earlier it became known that prices for Canadian canola fell sharply amid the introduction of Chinese tariffs, and up to 400,000 tonnes of canola meal from Canada were stuck in Chinese warehouses.

Tags: China, Canada, rapeseed, restrictions