China’s tariffs on Canada are in place. What are they targeting?

China has imposed a 100 per cent levy on Canadian canola oil and meal, as well as peas, plus a 25 per cent duty on seafood and pork, all of which began Thursday.

Canadian agricultural producers are warning of devastating impacts from new Chinese tariffs that began Thursday, which they say will compound the economic strain from the U.S. trade war.

China has imposed a 100 per cent levy on Canadian canola oil and meal, as well as peas, plus a 25 per cent duty on seafood and pork.

Those are on top of existing 25 per cent tariffs on a majority of exports to the U.S., which is set to bring in further “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2 that match those put on American goods.

“If you’re a processor, you’re going to feel the pressure of this in a much more meaningful way going forward,” said Erik Johnson, a senior economist and vice-president at Bank of Montreal Capital Markets.

For Tara Sawyer, an Alberta grain farmer and chair of Grain Growers of Canada whose crops include canola, the Chinese tariffs compound the tough time she and other farmers have faced over the past two to three years, with below-normal revenues due to drought and rising operating costs.

The tariffs also come just weeks before seeding begins for this season’s crops.

“This makes what’s already been challenging quite devastating, really,” she told Global News.

The tariffs are in retaliation against Canada’s 100 per cent levies on Chinese-made electric vehicles and a 25 per cent tax on aluminum and steel products, which were announced last year.