‘Need immediate action’: Sask. premier says Ottawa must act as China announces more canola tariffs

WATCH: As China rolls out further tariffs against Canadian canola, Sask. Premier Scott Moe is calling for Ottawa to take action. Angela Stewart explains.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is pleading with federal officials to take action – as China has rolled out further tariffs against Canadian canola.

China’s provisional duty rate will be set at 75.8 per cent and will go into effect on Thursday.

Speaking with reporters in Saskatoon Tuesday afternoon – Moe said the escalation comes at a hard time for producers – as many farmers are actively preparing or have already begun harvest.

“I was hoping that this could be avoided. That doesn’t appear to be the case this morning, and so there’s a shift in tone and a shift in urgency in the work that needs to happen in the days and weeks ahead,” he said.

“We need immediate action on this file. This is a significant Canadian industry,” he added.

China’s new anti-dumping duties mark a fresh escalation in the year-long trade dispute that began with Canada’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese-produced electric vehicles last August.

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts sent to your device

The new tariffs are temporary – and will be finalized after a probe into anti-dumping officially wraps up next month. The probe, launched last September, found that Canada’s agriculture industry, particularly the canola sector, had benefited from “substantial” government subsidies and preferential policies.

Moe went on to say that the new tariffs not being set in stone – makes immediate talks that much more important.

“This is a temporary tariff put in place until the finalization and review of the anti-dumping report and study that they have, which, to me, is an opportunity for Canada to engage ambitiously as that report comes forward,” he explained.

“Herein lies our opportunity. Everything is temporary at the moment, let’s see if we can have it removed before it becomes permanent.”

China sources nearly all its canola products from Canada. Saskatchewan produces 55 per cent of Canada’s canola, according to statistics from the province.

Moe called on Ottawa to work with the province and begin negotiating with the Chinese – citing that the canola sector is too valuable to squander.

“I would say that our federal government cannot sacrifice a $43 billion canola industry, 200,000 jobs in that industry that is largely based, in fairness, in Western Canada to protect a fledging electric vehicle industry largely based on eastern Canada,” he said.

The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) believes this move will take Canada completely out of the global canola market and will hit producers in the province hard.

“As producers, we feel like we’re being caught in a tariff war that we obviously didn’t want. Canola is a prime target for tariffs from the Chinese perspective because they know that it’s a huge crop in Canada, particularly in Western Canada,” said APAS president Bill Prybylski.

The announcement’s impact on the price of canola was already evident Tuesday. The global benchmark for canola trading – Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) November canola futures RSX5 – fell to a four-month low after the announcement.

The Saskatchewan NDP believe the government should make use of its trade office in China and send a diplomatic mission to end the tariffs on canola, pork and peas.

“China is our second largest trading partner, and these tariffs have the potential to crush entire farms and communities,” Leader Carla Beck told reporters Tuesday morning.

“What’s the point of paying millions of dollars for a trade office in China if we don’t use the thing?”

“We need to be there making the case, that there is a path out of this. This is going to cause a lot of concern, certainly for producers here but we’re going to see increased costs for people in China as well,” Beck said.

Moe says he expects to speak with Prime Minister Mark Carney in the next 24 hours.

-With files from Reuters and Angela Stewart