Beijing said Friday it would temporarily lower some tariffs on Canadian goods, fulfilling an agreement made during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to China in January.
The move comes after Ottawa eased measures on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) and steel, and will come into force from Sunday to December 31, the Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement.
It did not specify which Canadian goods would receive a reprieve, saying: “The tariff adjustments will be announced separately.”
Under what Carney called a “landmark trade agreement” following talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Beijing was expected to reduce tariffs on canola products from Canada to around 15 percent from 84 percent.
In turn, Canada agreed to import 49,000 Chinese EVs under new, preferential tariffs of 6.1 percent — on par with previous tariff levels.
The two countries reached a “new strategic partnership” as their leaders met in Beijing for the first time in eight years, turning the page on a raft of diplomatic spats, tit-for-tat arrests and tariff disputes.
Last March, China hit rapeseed oil, oil cakes and peas imported from Canada with a 100 percent tariff after it said a probe had found Canadian polices “disrupted the normal trade order”.
Canadian aquatic products and pork were hit with a 25 percent levy.
Months earlier, Ottawa had placed 100 percent tariffs on Chinese EV imports, matching US measures seeking to fend off a flood of Chinese state-subsidized cars into North America.
It had also announced a surtax on imports of steel and aluminium products from China.
In a separate statement on the tariff reprieve, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said China was “willing to work with Canada to continue to promote healthy, stable and sustainable trade ties”.
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