China tariffs threaten B.C.’s seafood industry​on March 15, 2025 at 12:42 am

Tariffs from China are causing concern for B.C.’s seafood industry.

Starting March 20, China is putting a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian seafood exports.

The BC Seafood Alliance says it could be a massive blow to the industry with China spending $300 million on local seafood annually.

The tariff is in retaliation to Canada’s surtax on all Chinese-made electric vehicles and it is a move the industry is asking the federal government to reconsider.

“We thought this would be a good thing in building a relationship with the Trump administration,” Christina Burridge, the executive director of the BC Seafood Alliance said about the electric vehicle tax.

“It hasn’t done us any good, so we think we should reconsider whether we want to impose those tariffs.”

Burridge said B.C.’s geoduck clam industry relies almost exclusively on exports to China, with virtually no alternative markets.

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Canadian seafood producers caught in double trade war

Twenty-five per cent U.S. tariffs on Canadian seafood and other goods are on pause until April 2, but the Chinese duties to take effect on March 20 include a long list of products like lobster, snow crab and shrimp.

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 to the Asian nation in 2024.

— with files from The Canadian Press