Trade with China

 Vincent J. Curtis

1 Apr 2019

The closure by the communist government of the Chinese market to Canadian exports of canola teaches a lesson that ought to have been obvious twenty years ago.  You cannot trust a totalitarian regime that thinks it has leverage over you.

Last year, the Chinese tried the same trick against Trump when they closed agricultural exports from the American heartland after Trump imposed tariffs on imports from China.

There should be no thought of trying to have a free trade deal with China.  They can’t be trusted, and we can’t put ourselves in their hands.  The basis of our trade policy with China should be “cash and carry.”  You have the cash, and you can buy our exports.  You can’t buy Canadian capital assets, and you can’t appropriate our technology.  Growing crops on your promise to pay later will be strongly discouraged by the Canadian government, by not offering insurance.

China’s game of tampering with foodstuffs is dangerous also to itself.  In the short term, China can throw its considerable weight around, but if Canadian farmers grow wheat instead of canola, the Chinese diet is going to have to change – without the agreement of the Chinese people.

Canadian producers cannot look to China as a trustworthy export market because the communist government can’t be trusted.  The government of Canada needs to impose strict rules and policy about trade with China for the protection of Canada’s economy.
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