Politics
China’s tariffs on Canada are in place. What are they targeting? TenX News
Canadian agricultural producers are warning of devastating impacts from new Chinese tariffs that began Thursday, which they say will compound the economic strain from the U.S. trade war.
China has imposed a 100 per cent levy on Canadian canola oil and meal, as well as peas, plus a 25 per cent duty on seafood and pork.
Those are on top of existing 25 per cent tariffs on a majority of exports to the U.S., which is set to bring in further “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2 that match those put on American goods.
“If you’re a processor, you’re going to feel the pressure of this in a much more meaningful way going forward,” said Erik Johnson, a senior economist and vice-president at Bank of Montreal Capital Markets.
For Tara Sawyer, an Alberta grain farmer and chair of Grain Growers of Canada whose crops include canola, the Chinese tariffs compound the tough time she and other farmers have faced over the past two to three years, with below-normal revenues due to drought and rising operating costs.
The tariffs also come just weeks before seeding begins for this season’s crops.
“This makes what’s already been challenging quite devastating, really,” she told Global News.
Why did China impose these tariffs?
The tariffs are in retaliation against Canada’s 100 per cent levies on Chinese-made electric vehicles and a 25 per cent tax on aluminum and steel products, which were announced last year.
The federal government has accused China of unfairly subsidizing its EV industry in order to get cheap vehicles into North America, threatening Canada’s auto industry.
The EV tariffs matched similar levies imposed by the U.S. for the same reason.
China launched “anti-dumping” investigations into Canadian canola imports in September 2024 in response, and announced the new tariffs on March 8 as a result.
“It’s a punitive number made up by the Chinese regime,” Daniel Trefler, an economist and professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, said about the 100 per cent tariff on canola products.
“Canada is trying to protect itself from what would be the total collapse of our auto sector if we allow China to massively subsidize their autos…. [Canada’s EV tariffs on China] were arrived at after careful consideration and reflects the reality in China.”
The growing trade war has upended recent efforts to improve relations between Ottawa and Beijing from the low point of 2019 and 2020, when Canada detained Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou. China targeted canola exports in retaliation at that time too, as well as Canadian nationals in China.
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Relations are even more tense after it was revealed Wednesday that China has executed four Canadians for “drug-related crimes” this year.
What could the impact be?
China is Canada’s top export market for canola seeds, oil and meal. The Canola Council of Canada says economic activity with China was almost $5 billion last year, including nearly $1 billion in canola meal.
Sawyer, who manages a 4,000-acre grain farm in Acme, Alta., says the new tariffs effectively shut the door on that market due to the steep rate.
“Where are we going to be selling that canola, or can we?” she said. “It’s really stressful, and it’s changing all the time. There’s so much uncertainty.”
Johnson notes that canola seeds, which make up a majority of Canada’s canola trade, aren’t included in Thursday’s tariffs, although Beijing has said it is continuing to investigate alleged dumping of those exports.
When China’s anti-dumping probes were first announced, credit agency Morningstar DBRS said resulting tariffs could lead to a “billion-dollar hit” for the country and its supply chain.
The Canola Council of Canada estimates the industry lost between $1.54 billion and $2.35 billion between March 2019 and August 2020 from lost sales and lower prices due to China’s previous tariffs.
Canola prices could fall further in Canada as producers look to sell off product that was previously meant for Chinese export, Sawyer and economists say.
The Fisheries Council of Canada, meanwhile, said in a statement this month that a 25 per cent Chinese tariff on seafood products is an “existential threat” to the industry. It said the combination of tariffs from China and the U.S. will “effectively cut off” 83 per cent of Canada’s seafood export markets worldwide.
According to the federal government, China is Canada’s second-largest fish and seafood export market after the U.S., with $1.3 billion in products shipped there last year. Some export markets, like geoduck clams out of British Columbia and elvers in the Maritimes, rely almost exclusively on Chinese buyers.
As for pork, China is the third-largest export market behind the U.S. and Japan, with over $43 million in products exported over the past year.
“These Chinese tariffs could not have come at a worse time,” Keith Currie, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, said in a statement this month.
Trefler said while China’s tariffs may not impact inflation, they will have “huge” effects on employment and output, with farms potentially forced to lay off workers or close altogether.
“It’s devastating not only for the individual farmers but for the communities that surround those farmers,” he said.
Johnson said China’s actions, while destabilizing to specific industries, still pose less uncertainty than the ever-evolving trade policies out of the Trump administration in the U.S., which continue to be the driving factor for recession fears.
“There’s already been some emphasis on [diversifying trade away from China] for years,” he said. “The challenge is, some of that reshuffling has been toward a partner [the U.S.] that we’re now less certain of.”
How are governments responding?
The federal government and provinces where affected sectors are concentrated are being asked to support producers whose bottom lines will be hit.
Agriculture Minister Kody Blois said Wednesday that he has spoken with his counterparts in Alberta and Saskatchewan about using “all the tools in our toolbox, including our Business Risk Management programs, to support our canola, pea and pork farmers.”
“We’re focused on making sure there are supports, to make sure that there are mechanisms in place to support those impacted producers,” he told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Ottawa. He said more details will be shared in the coming days.
“This is significant.”
Alberta’s government set aside $4 billion this year to manage its response to tariffs, up $2 billion from the year before.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told reporters Wednesday there was a potential for a “made in Canada solution” to ensure canola crops can get to market.
“I don’t have a solution for pork yet,” Smith said. “I have doubled my bacon intake as a measure of support.”
Manitoba’s budget, announced Thursday, included broad plans for hundreds of millions of dollars for supports for businesses, agricultural producers and individuals, and also introduced new tax measures to help spur investment.
Saskatchewan, with a slim $12-million surplus in its budget tabled Wednesday, did not set aside money to help manage the potential impact of tariffs.
Nova Scotia Fisheries Minister Kent Smith told reporters Wednesday that the government can provide assistance to seafood producers from its $200-million contingency fund established to deal with the impact of tariffs if necessary.
But he also downplayed the potential short-term impact of China’s new levies, saying he heard “cautious optimism” from producers at a three-day seafood expo he attended with Premier Tim Houston this week.
Industry groups say government will eventually have to step in with new supports to address China’s tariffs specifically, saying the relief launched in response to U.S. tariffs won’t be sufficient.
Sawyer said she’s particularly concerned about farmers’ mental health as they deal with additional stress.
“Everybody is struggling with what to do,” she said.
— with files from The Canadian Press
The Trump administration said Friday it was denying and revoking U.S. visas from members of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
That comes ahead of next month’s United Nations General Assembly, where Canada and several other countries have said they intend to officially recognize a Palestinian state.
The U.S. State Department cited the groups’ efforts to secure statehood recognition at the UN, along with their appeals to the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice to investigate alleged Israeli crimes in Gaza, as reasons for the decision by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“Both steps materially contributed to Hamas’s refusal to release its hostages, and to the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire talks,” the department said in a statement.
“The Trump Administration has been clear: it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace.”
The statement did not name the officials being denied entry. It was not immediately clear if the list included Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who was expected to travel to New York for the UN gathering.
The Palestinians’ ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters at the UN headquarters that they were checking exactly what the U.S. move means “and how it applies to any of our delegation, and we will respond accordingly.”
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Representatives assigned to the Palestinian Authority mission at the UN, led by Mansour, will be granted waivers so they can continue their New York-based operations, the U.S. statement said.
Mansour said Abbas still intends to lead the delegation to the high-level meetings and is expected to address the General Assembly — as he has done for many years — and to attend a meeting on the afternoon of Sept. 22 on a two-state solution co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia.
U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to New York and address the general assembly on Sept. 23, the White House said on Thursday.
Canada, Britain, Australia and France in recent weeks have announced or signalled their intention to recognize a Palestinian state during the meeting.
The countries have said their recognition is conditional on the Palestinian Authority — which has limited self-rule over parts of the occupied West Bank and has for years been positioning itself as a legitimate government alternative to Hamas in Gaza — undergoing reforms and new elections.
Abbas has signalled he will co-operate with the Western nations’ demands.
The Palestinian Liberation Organization is an internationally recognized coalition that represents Palestinian people in its occupied territories and abroad.
The Trump administration has staunchly backed Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. The U.S. has also refused to condemn expanded Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Canada and other allies have said undermine two-state solution efforts.
Rubio hosted Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in Washington on Wednesday “to reaffirm our two nations’ close cooperation,” the U.S. secretary said in a post on X.
Saar, asked after the meeting what the plan was for a Palestinian state, said there would not be any.
The Israeli minister on Friday thanked Rubio for holding the PA and PLO “accountable for rewarding terrorism, incitement and efforts to use legal warfare against Israel” in a social media statement.
Officials with the Palestinian Authority reject that they’ve undermined peace prospects.
Under the 1947 UN “headquarters agreement,” the U.S. is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, terrorism and foreign policy reasons.
Hamas earlier this month said it had accepted a U.S.-backed proposal on a ceasefire in Gaza that would see the release of some hostages in exchange for talks with Israel that would end the conflict and see the return of all remaining hostages.
But Israel has said it will only accept the full return of all the hostages and has pressed ahead with a plan to occupy Gaza City, which international monitors like the UN have warned could worsen a famine already afflicting the Palestinian territory.
Rubio last week announced sanctions against multiple International Criminal Court judges and prosecutors involved in the court’s investigation into Israel’s actions in Gaza and the issuing of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.
—With files from Reuters
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Politics
Israel launches new offensive in Gaza, says remains of 2 hostages returned – National TenX News
Gaza City is now a dangerous combat zone, Israel says, adding that it is in the “initial stages” of a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
Israel’s military said it suspended midday pauses to fighting, which had allowed food and aid supplies to enter from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Gaza’s largest city.
It also said it had recovered the body of a hostage and the remains of another, and vowed its military offensive would return more.
The shift comes weeks after Israel first announced plans to widen its offensive in Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering and enduring famine.
Father of hostage calls recovery operation a ‘bittersweet moment’
Israel’s recovery of more hostages Friday felt like a “stab in the stomach” for Rubi Chen, who believes his son is still in captivity in Gaza.
Israel said it had returned the body of one captive and the remains of another from Gaza Friday. It identified one as Ilan Weiss, a man killed in the initial Hamas attack.
“It’s a bittersweet moment that the Weiss family is reunited with their loved one, even though he’s coming back not as they would have wanted,” said Chen. “But at least they have closure … there are still 49 families waiting to have that closure.”
Chen said his family has received intelligence that his son did not survive the Oct. 7 attack but Hamas has not provided any information about his son’s whereabouts.
Netanyahu details hostage recovery operation
The Israeli prime minister said the body of a dead Israeli and the remains of another were recovered following an operation in the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces and the country’s internal security service Shin Bet.
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Netanyahu said Friday one set of remains belongs to Ilan Weiss who was killed on Oct. 7, 2023 while defending Kibbutz Be’eri against attacking Hamas gunmen.
The remains of the second Israeli are now being examined for positive identification at the Institute of Forensic Medicine.
Weiss’ wife Shiri and daughter Noga, also kidnapped in the Hamas attack, were released from captivity in November 2023.
He has two other daughters.
The Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the return of all hostages remains the “highest national priority” and urged the Israeli government to enter into negotiations “and stay at the table until every last hostage comes home.”
Israeli military says attack on Gaza City will intensify
A spokesman for the Israeli military says the country’s forces have started their attack on Gaza City which are operating “with great force” on the city’s outskirts.
Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-speaking spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces, posted on X Friday that the military operation is in its initial phase, but that the Israeli military will “intensify our strikes” and “will not hesitate” until all Israeli hostages are returned and Hamas is dismantled “militarily and politically.”
Adraee said Israel is “not waiting” and is moving ahead with its attack against Hamas which has “transformed from a military organization into a defeated organization waging guerrilla warfare.”
The U.N.’s humanitarian agency said they were “deeply concerned” by the military’s statement that it would intensify its operation in Gaza City.
It predicted that the offensive would have a “horrific impact on people already exhausted, malnourished, bereaved, displaced, and deprived of basics needed for survival.”
It said UN and NGO teams would remain on the ground in Gaza City to provide life-saving support but maintained that its work would need to be facilitated.
Israel says hostage bodies recovered
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the body of Ilan Weiss of Kibbutz Be’eri and the remains of another unnamed hostage were returned to Israel.
“The campaign to return the hostages continues continuously. We will not rest or be silent until we return all of our hostages home — both the living and the dead,” Netanyahu said.
Israel on Friday said its military had recovered the bodies of two hostages, including an Israeli man who was killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war.
Of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants almost 22 months ago, roughly 50 remain in Gaza including 20 that Israel believes to be alive.
Israeli military begins Gaza City offensive
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone and said it was in the ″initial stages″ of a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
The suspension comes weeks after Israel first announced plans to widen its offensive in Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering and enduring famine.
440 people are now sheltering inside Gaza’s only Catholic church, spokesman says
A spokesman for Gaza’s only Catholic church said some 440 people who have taken shelter there had unanimously agreed to stay, despite word that Israel was preparing to mount a new military offensive in the Palestinian territory.
Farid Jubran told The Associated Press Friday that their decision to stay in Gaza City’s Holy Family Catholic Church was made of their own free will and “wasn’t imposed on the people.”
He said five clergy have also stayed in the church to assist those sheltering that include women, children and older people.
But Jubran, who is currently outside of Gaza, said it’s “up to them” if they want to leave the church at some point later.
The spokesman said there are no additional measures that have been taken inside the church to bolster the safety of the people.
He said “when we feel danger, people get closer to the walls or whatever, it’s more protected” but that the church “doesn’t have any specific defenses.”
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Politics
Canada places further sanctions on Russia over Moldova interference claims – National TenX News
Ottawa is placing further sanctions on Russia after allegations that Moscow interfered to influence elections in Moldova, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand’s office said on Thursday.
Canada is imposing sanctions against 16 individuals and two entities under the Special Economic Measures (Moldova) Regulations for their role in “Russia’s malign interference activities in Moldova,” Anand’s office said.
“These individuals have actively participated in coordinated efforts aimed at destabilizing the democratically elected government in Moldova. They are associated with politician and businessman Ilan Shor, who has been sanctioned by Canada, and who fled Moldova in 2019,” the statement continued.
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The list of people who’ve been sanctioned include officials of the Shor Party, a political party led by Ilan Shor. The party was sanctioned by the Canadian government in June 2023.
The list also includes former officials of Moldova and officials of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, “a region in Moldova whose current administration has strong links to Russia.”
Canada is also placing sanctions on members of pro-Russian Moldovan media outlets accused of “disseminating disinformation,” as well as “other participants in Russia’s malign operations abroad.”
The two entities on which Canada placed sanctions Thursday include Victory/Pobeda, a political bloc led by the Shor Party, and a Shor-backed paramilitary group that Canada accused of being “involved in organizing a series of anti-government protests in Moldova in 2023.”
Anand’s office said Canada is rolling out these measures “as political actors and organizations under Mr. Shor’s influence are ramping up their efforts to interfere in Moldova’s next parliamentary elections, which will be held on September 28, 2025.”
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
U.S. scraps Palestinian officials’ visas ahead of UN General Assembly – National TenX News
Israel launches new offensive in Gaza, says remains of 2 hostages returned – National TenX News
Canada places further sanctions on Russia over Moldova interference claims – National TenX News
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