Canada Tries To Escalate Its Trade Dispute With China

Hong Kong’s “South China Morning Post” reported today that Canada proposed to set up a special group at a World Trade Organization meeting to investigate China’s restrictions on Canadian rapeseed imports. This request was “unsurprisingly” rejected by China.
In addition, Reuters also learned from a trade official in Geneva that at a closed-door meeting of the WTO on the 28th, Canada tried to escalate its trade dispute with China due to China’s restrictions on the export of rapeseed to China. China rejected the request to establish a formal investigation team, saying that it is too early.
In March 2019, the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China successively issued notices to export two Canadian companies, Richardson International and Viterra, from China due to multiple detections of dangerous pests. Removed from the list of registered companies in rapeseed, the former is one of the largest agricultural companies in Canada. The South China Morning Post stated that during the same period, China began to strengthen inspections of rapeseeds exported to China by other Canadian companies.
Last week, Canada declared that China “has not resolved the dispute” in 2019 and said it will continue to appeal. But on Monday, China stated at the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) meeting that it is “too early” to set up a special group and that China is willing to “continue to engage”.
The Chinese side stated that it “regrets” that Canada’s request for the establishment of a group is “regretted”, and pointed out that the relevant decision is based on scientific principles and the purpose is to protect the life and health of humans, animals or plants.
The South China Morning Post analyzed that China’s rejection of Canada’s request conforms to outside forecasts, but at the next round of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body meeting in July, it is still “almost certain” that a special group will be set up. Specifically, in similar cases, it is a common practice for the respondent to object to the establishment of a special group. Because the formation of a group requires all members to reach an agreement, the respondent actually has the right to veto this. However, in the opposite case, it is also necessary to reach an agreement to prevent the formation of the group.
However, regardless of whether the special group is established or not, China’s suspension of Canadian rapeseed imports is out of safety considerations. As the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lu Kang said in 2019 in response to Canadian queries, “I can say responsibly that the Chinese government’s decision is of course well-founded.” The customary decision to suspend imports is entirely reasonable, reasonable and legal.
According to data from the Canadian Rapeseed Council (CCOC), compared with the level before the implementation of the ban and enhanced inspections, the exports of Canadian companies (canola to China) fell by 50% to 70%.
The council stated that Canada’s rapeseed exports to China fell from US$2.27 billion in 2018 to US$650 million in 2019. In 2020, the export value will rebound to 1.13 billion U.S. dollars.
According to Global Affairs Canada, “Canada is continuing to advance WTO dispute settlement procedures to restore Canada’s full market access to Chinese rapeseed exports.” The Global Affairs Department is the Canadian government responsible for diplomacy, consular relations, and trade promotion. Department.
According to data from Commodity Network this year, Canada is the world’s largest exporter of rapeseed. Canada produces approximately 15.5 million tons of rapeseed each year. China followed closely with an annual output of 14.7 million tons.
However, my country’s oil demand is huge and self-sufficiency cannot be guaranteed. For a long time, Canada has been my country’s main source of rapeseed, accounting for 92.48% of domestic rapeseed imports. However, in the past two years, my country has increased its imports of rapeseed oil from Russia, the European Union, and the UAE.