Canada’s Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay is quietly heading to China on an unannounced trip to work on mitigating harm from potential Chinese duties on Canadian canola.
The timing and magnitude of possible tariffs or restrictions on Canadian canola are still unclear, but the industry is bracing for the possibility of retaliatory measures taking effect in the near future as part of China’s response to the Trudeau government’s new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and batteries.
As of Friday (Nov. 8), MacAulay’s trip has not been acknowledged publicly by the government or his office, but multiple industry stakeholders and sources on Parliament Hill say the minister and several staff are headed to China to meet with government officials in the coming week.
The House of Commons is not sitting next week (Nov. 11-15), with Remembrance Day on Monday, providing a window for MacAulay to leave the country.
The minister attended an annual reception hosted by the Canola Council of Canada and Canadian Canola Growers Association in Ottawa earlier this week.
Canola is a Canadian success story and it was a real pleasure to spend some time with the folks from the Canadian Canola Growers Association and the Canola Council of Canada at their annual reception yesterday evening. pic.twitter.com/36EJwTmc0U
— Lawrence MacAulay (@L_MacAulay) November 6, 2024
Related:
- China shares more details as it begins anti-dumping investigation into Canadian canola
- China announces anti-dumping investigation into Canadian canola
