Canada and China have extended selected agricultural and seafood trade relief through the end of 2028.
Global Affairs Canada announced on November 4 that the two countries agreed to extend favourable market access under the Preliminary Joint Arrangement for Canadian canola meal, peas, lobsters and crab.
The relief now covers more than one planning cycle
Global Affairs Canada said in March that China had suspended anti-discrimination tariffs on the covered products until the end of 2026. The new extension pushes that access through December 31, 2028.
A one-year reprieve reduces immediate pressure, but it still leaves producers, processors and exporters planning around a possible year-end cutoff. A two-year extension gives covered sectors more room to make crop marketing, contract, shipping and investment decisions around a known trade framework.
Canola groups responded in those terms. The Canola Council of Canada and the Canadian Canola Growers Association said the decision extends tariff-free access for Canadian canola meal to China until the end of 2028. The groups said the earlier arrangement allowed canola meal to enter China tariff-free from March 1 to December 31, 2026, and welcomed the extra certainty as producers finish the 2026 harvest and plan for 2027.
The pulse sector also framed the extension as a planning gain. The Government of Saskatchewan, citing Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, said Canada exported 975,000 metric tonnes of peas to China from March through September during the temporary tariff relief period, worth $421 million. That does not make the access permanent, but it shows why the extension matters to growers and exporters that had already returned product to the market under the temporary pause.
How the extension fits the wider arrangement
The extension sits alongside earlier changes in the January arrangement, including restored Chinese market access for Canadian beef and reduced tariffs on Canadian canola seed.
Global Affairs Canada said in March that China had reduced Canadian canola seed tariffs to a combined applied tariff rate of 14.9%, down from nearly 85%. The January backgrounder said the canola seed change was expected to improve market access for about $4 billion in annual Canadian exports, while the removal of tariffs on canola meal, lobsters, peas and crabs was expected to improve market access for $2.6 billion in Canadian agricultural goods.
Canada is also extending its side of the arrangement. Global Affairs Canada said Canada will keep previous remission measures until the end of 2028 for certain Chinese steel and aluminum products not made in Canada. In the January backgrounder, the federal government described those remission measures as covering products that are in low supply or not available in sufficient volumes from Canadian producers.
Some trade irritants remain outside the deal
The extension should not be read as a full settlement of Canada-China agricultural and seafood trade tensions. The November announcement covers specific products, not every commodity affected by recent trade disputes.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada briefing material from June said anti-discrimination tariffs of 100% on canola oil, 25% on pork and pork products, and 25% on fish and seafood products other than lobsters and crab remained in place at that time. The November announcement did not announce broader relief for those categories.
That distinction matters because canola meal and canola oil are different products, and lobster and crab do not represent the entire seafood sector. For exporters outside the covered categories, the extension signals continued engagement between Ottawa and Beijing, but not necessarily immediate tariff relief.
The Beijing meeting was also a diplomatic marker
The trade extension was agreed at the 29th Canada-China Joint Economic and Trade Commission meeting in Beijing, co-led by International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu and China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. Global Affairs Canada said it was the first time the commission had been held at the ministerial level.
China’s Ministry of Commerce also described the meeting as a forum for managing trade differences and expanding cooperation. In its November 4 statement, the ministry said recent Canada-China economic and trade consultations had made positive progress, including the further extension of exemption measures under the preliminary arrangement.
The two governments are trying to place the extension inside a wider reset of commercial ties. Global Affairs Canada said China was Canada’s second-largest single-country merchandise trading partner in 2025, with $125.7 billion in two-way merchandise trade. Canadian merchandise exports to China were valued at $35.0 billion, while imports from China were valued at $90.6 billion.
The federal government has also set a target of increasing Canadian exports to China by 50% by 2030. Global Affairs Canada said exports to China grew 31.4% to $21.5 billion in the first half of 2026.
The extension keeps several important Canadian export categories moving under known terms while both countries continue discussions on wider trade issues, investment and market access.
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