DS: China — Additional Import Duties on Certain Agricultural and Fishery Products from Canada

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Current status

 

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Key facts

 

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Latest document

  

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Summary of the dispute to date

The summary below was up-to-date at

Consultations

Complaint by Canada

On 20 March 2025, Canada requested consultations with China with respect to measures, adopted pursuant to a domestic “antidiscrimination investigation”, imposing a 100% ad valorem rate of import duty on certain canola seed oil, oil residue cake and peas from Canada, and a 25% ad valorem rate of import duty on certain seafood and pork products from Canada. These import duties were in addition to any duties imposed by China pursuant to its tariff commitments as set out in its GATT 1994 Schedule of Concessions.

Canada claimed that the challenged measures appear to be inconsistent with:

• Articles 23.1, 23.2(a), and 23.2(c) of the DSU; and
   
• Articles I:1, II:1(a), and II:1(b) of the GATT 1994.

Canada indicated that it considered the consultation request to concern a matter of urgency relating, inter alia, to perishable goods, and that, consequently, Canada requested that the consultations be held within 10 days of the date of delivery of the request, in accordance with Article 4.8 of the DSU.

 

Panel and Appellate Body proceedings

On 12 May 2025, Canada requested the establishment of a panel recalling that it had requested consultations pursuant to Article 4.8 of the DSU as a matter of urgency and that, therefore, the expedited timelines set out in Articles 4.8 and 12.8 of the DSU applied. On 16 May 2025, China requested that a communication be circulated to the DSB where it disagreed with Canada's assertion that those expedited timelines applied and strongly opposed both Canada's request for the establishment of a panel within 60 days from the consultations request and its placement on the agenda of the DSB meeting scheduled for 23 May 2025. On 22 May 2025, Canada requested that a communication be circulated to the DSB where it indicated that it was fully within its rights to request the establishment of a panel at the DSB meeting scheduled for 23 May 2025 due to the perishable nature of the products in question, but that, given China's objection placed before the chair, in the interests of minimizing procedural wrangling and as a gesture of good faith, Canada withdrew its request for establishment of a panel from the agenda for the 23 May 2025 DSB meeting.

On 23 May 2025, Canada submitted a revised request for the establishment of a panel. At its meeting on 5 June 2025, the DSB deferred the establishment of the panel.

At its meeting on 23 June 2025, the DSB established a panel. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Viet Nam reserved their third-party rights.

On 20 August 2025, Canada and China informed the DSB that they had agreed to Procedures for Arbitration under Article 25 of the DSU in this dispute. Such procedures were entered into by Canada and China to give effect to the communication JOB/DSB/1/Add.12 (“Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement Pursuant to Article 25 of the DSU (MPIA)”) and with the objective of setting a framework for an Arbitrator to decide on any appeal from any final panel report issued in this dispute, if the Appellate Body is not able to hear such an appeal under Articles 16.4 and 17 of the DSU.