China extends two-year tariff pause on Canadian canola and seafood

China will keep its reduced tariffs on Canadian canola, peas, lobster, and crab in place until the end of 2028. The federal government announced the extension on Wednesday, confirming that the two-year pause on duties will not expire as previously scheduled.

The new terms follow an initial agreement reached after Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Beijing in January. Under that original deal, China paused its 100 percent tariffs on Canadian canola meal and peas and reduced duties on lobster and crab from 25 percent to zero. That arrangement was set to lapse at the end of 2026. The extension preserves that access for two additional years.

International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu stated that the move provides predictable access to the Chinese market. He noted that this stability supports the government goal of increasing exports to China by 50 percent by 2030. Canada is the world’s largest exporter of canola, while China ranks as the industry’s second-largest market after the United States.

The January negotiations also produced a separate five-year deal on canola seeds. Beijing cut tariffs on these imports from 100 percent to approximately 15 percent. In exchange for these agricultural concessions, Canada agreed to allow up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the market each year. Those vehicles will face a tariff rate of 6.1 percent, a reduction from the 100 percent level imposed by the Trudeau government in 2024.

Ottawa also granted improved market access for specific Chinese steel and aluminum products. These items are in short supply domestically and cannot be produced by Canadian manufacturers. The government confirmed on Wednesday that this market access for steel and aluminum will also be extended through the end of 2028, matching the timeline for the agricultural and seafood products.

The initial 100 percent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles were part of a broader trade strategy that China matched with its own hikes on Canadian goods. The current extension locks in the current tariff rates for the specified categories until December 31, 2028. No further changes to these specific duty levels were announced for the interim period.