Saskatchewan’s Moe hopes Carney makes trade progress in China visit

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says he’s glad to see Prime Minister Mark Carney go to China next week to talk trade as punishing tariffs continue to hammer a major Prairie crop.

Moe says on social media he hopes Carney can make progress on advancing market access for canola products, which have been subject to Chinese tariffs since the spring.

Moe had travelled to China in September alongside the federal government to find a path forward to resolve the dispute.

Carney is set to meet with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, the first official trip to China by a Canadian prime minister in more than eight years

China has imposed a 76 per cent tariff on Canadian canola seed, widely seen as a response to Canada’s 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles.

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Beijing has also imposed duties on other Canadian canola products, peas, pork and some seafood in response to Canada’s levies on Chinese steel and aluminum.

Moe said Canada needs to be earnest with China.

“If we are truly serious about securing, diversifying and expanding Canadian markets around the world, this is a country we should engage with in a serious way,” he said.