Canada challenges China's tariffs on agricultural products

Canada has filed a dispute with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against China. This is over new tariffs that China has placed on Canadian agricultural and fishery products. The WTO announced this news on Monday. The tariffs include a 100% surcharge on products like rapeseed oil, animal feed, and peas coming from Canada. These new duties were introduced earlier this month. Canada is a major producer of canola, which is used for cooking oil and animal feed. China has been one of Canada's biggest customers for these products. In addition to the rapeseed products, aquatic goods and pork from Canada will face a 25% tariff. Canadian industry leaders are concerned about the financial impact of these new tariffs. This move follows a probe by China into tariffs that Canada had imposed on Chinese products last year. In August, Canada introduced 100% tariffs on imported electric vehicles from China. This was done to match U.S. tariffs aimed at reducing the influx of state-subsidized Chinese cars into North America. Canada also placed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from China. China's commerce ministry claims that Canada's tariffs disrupted normal trade and harmed Chinese companies. Once a dispute is filed with the WTO, discussions take place between the involved countries. If they cannot reach an agreement, a special panel of experts may be formed to help resolve the issue.