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Agriculture, trade ministers will testify in April on Chinese canola issue

OTTAWA - A pair of federal cabinet ministers have been called on to testify before a parliamentary committee on China's move to reject canola shipments from one of Canada's largest grain producers.
 
The House of Commons trade committee voted today to hear from Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and International Trade Minister Jim Carr on the Canada-China canola issue during the week of April 1.
 
Beijing recently suspended canola imports from Richardson International Ltd. for what one Chinese official alleged was the detection of hazardous organisms in the company's product.
 
In an interview last week, Carr said Canada is pushing to solve the economically important matter — but he added that China had yet to provide evidence to back up the claims.
 
China's decision to block shipments of one of Canada's key exports comes with the two countries locked in a diplomatic dispute related to the December arrest of Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver — where she's now fighting extradition to the United States.
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Canada reaches tariff deal with China on canola, electric vehicles

Video: Canada reaches tariff deal with China on canola, electric vehicles

Canada has reached a deal with China to increase the limit of imports of Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) in exchange for Beijing dropping tariffs on agricultural products, such as canola, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday.

The tariffs on canola are dropping to 15 per cent starting on March 1. In exchange for dropping duties on agricultural products, Carney is allowing 49,000 Chinese EVs to be exported to Canada.

Carney described it as a “preliminary but landmark” agreement to remove trade barriers and reduce tariffs, part of a broader strategic partnership with China.