Canada isn’t planning to take China to the World Trade Organization over canola, at least not yet.
Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, during sometimes testy exchanges at the standing agriculture committee May 2, said it isn’t the right time.
“We have decided not to start a process with the WTO because we don’t think it’s the right moment to do such a thing,” she said in response to Ontario Conservative MP Bev Shipley.
“We are monitoring the situation, getting advice and thinking about it with the working group as well, because we value the thoughts of our partners.”
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The Conservatives have called for an appeal to the WTO over China’s refusal to purchase Canadian canola seed due to so-called contamination. Canadian officials have been unable to secure a trip to China to conduct tests on earlier shipments.
Agriculture critic Luc Berthold told Bibeau the government’s softer, scientific approach is not working.
“Don’t you think there needs to be a political solution?” he asked.
Bibeau said the canola working group has a strategy that it’s following.
Asked if she believes the problem is political, she replied she couldn’t say yes or no.
International Trade Minister Jim Carr, during an industry conference call May 3, said the government had no evidence that the canola dispute was political, even though most observers believe the matter is related to the detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.
Carr said the government is “not blind or silly,” however. He said Canada has to be cautious about how it proceeds to avoid unnecessary escalation.
For example, to those who would seek to block Chinese imports or retaliate, he said the consequences have to be thought out.
“It’s tempting to give them a deadline, but then we have to ask the question what happens if the deadline comes and goes,” he said. “We have to play chess here, not checkers.”
He assured those on the line that every option would remain on the table and said Canada continues to work with allies who favour a rules-based trading system, but if the Chinese and Americans aren’t on side, the international dispute settlement mechanism “will be severely wounded.”
Bibeau made similar comments at committee, saying the situation is delicate.
Canola Council of Canada president Jim Everson agreed everything is on the table at the working group.
“I think the government of Canada is not going to be publicly communicating its strategy,” he said in response to a question about why the WTO process hasn’t been initiated.
Canola oil and meal continue to move into China, leading to questions about expanding Canada’s processing capacity. Crushing is close to capacity, Everson said, and market access is critical to finding investment for expansion.
