Saskatchewan’s Moe hopes Carney makes business progress during China visit

Premier of Saskatchewan Scott Moe says he is happy to see Prime Minister Mark Carney leaving China next week to talk about trade as a punishment prices continue to harvest a large crop on the Prairies.

Moe says on social media that he hopes Carney can make progress in improving market access for canola products, which have been subject to Chinese tariffs since the spring.

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Moe had traveled to China in September alongside the federal government to find a way forward to resolve the dispute.

Carney is expected to meet with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, the first official trip to China by a Canadian prime minister in more than eight years.

China has imposed a 76 percent tariff on Canadian canola seeds, widely seen as a response to Canada’s 100 percent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

Beijing also imposed duties on other Canadian canola products, peas, pork and some seafood in response to Canadian levies on Chinese steel and aluminum.

Moe said Canada needs to be serious about China.

“If we really want to secure, diversify and expand Canadian markets around the world, this is a country we should be seriously engaging with,” he said.