Question Period Note: Tariffs on Canadian Fish and Seafood

• The Government of Canada will continue to stand up for Canadian fish and seafood businesses and workers and defend them from the harmful effects of unfair trade policies.
• Canada is actively engaging in constructive dialogue with officials from other countries to address trade concerns.
• The Government of Canada has a robust system of economic support programs available to help businesses and workers directly impacted by tariffs.

• The U.S. is Canada’s largest export market for fish and seafood. Goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), including Canadian harvested fish and seafood, are currently exempt from U.S. tariffs.
• Canada responded to the U.S. imposition of tariffs on other Canadian goods on March 4, 2025, by imposing tariffs on $30 billion in goods imported from the U.S. The only fish and seafood products on the $30 billion list are fish oil (imports from U.S. worth $85 million in 2023) and shrimps and prawns in airtight containers ($6.3 million).
• China is Canada’s second biggest export market for fish and seafood ( $1.3 billion in 2024).
• On March 20, 2025, China imposed retaliatory duties on certain Canadian goods, including 25 per cent tariffs on 49 aquatic products, including certain crab, shrimp, prawn, clam, lobster, sea cucumber, geoduck, and Greenland halibut products, and herring oils and fats (roughly 80 per cent of fish and seafood exports by value).
• The Government of Canada initiated a World Trade Organization dispute settlement process with China concerning Chinese measures that impose additional import duties on certain agricultural and fishery products from Canada.
• Fisheries that currently have limited market alternatives will be significantly impacted.
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is working closely with federal partners to respond to trade impacts on fish and seafood products. This includes Global Affairs Canada, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Canadian Border Services Agency, the Privy Council Office, and Finance Canada.
• DFO is working through bilateral and joint engagement mechanisms to engage with industry, provinces and territories, and Indigenous partners, including sharing accurate and timely information on actions and clarifying impacts and supports.
• Market diversification will take time and considerable effort. In the near-term, tariffs are expected to lower prices, which could impact employment and may create solvency risks for highly indebted harvesters and processors.
• The Government of Canada has a robust system of economic support programs available to help businesses and workers directly impacted by tariffs. This includes the Trade Commissioner Services, which helps businesses grow and diversify their business operations by connecting them with funding and support programs. It includes financing and advisory supports for businesses through financial Crown corporations (e.g., Business Development Bank of Canada, Economic Development Canada) and supports for workers through Employment Insurance.
• DFO’s Fisheries Funds (the Atlantic Fisheries Fund, the Quebec Fisheries Fund, and the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund) are delivered by the Government of Canada with a 70:30 federal to provincial funding share. The Funds are well utilized by industry, stakeholders, and Indigenous participants, and have supported market development and diversification. The Liberal electoral platform indicated that the Government will help Canada’s fisheries respond to tariffs and reduce the risk involved in expanding to new markets by creating a new Arctic Fisheries Fund, and revamping the Atlantic Fisheries Fund, the Quebec Fisheries Fund, and the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund, increasing funding of each by 20 per cent.
 

If Pressed on Chinese Tariffs
• Canada cannot ignore the threat posed by China’s non-market policies and practices, which create artificially lower production costs, significant market distortions, and an unequal playing field when competing with Chinese firms.
• We are disappointed by China’s decision to apply unjustified tariffs against certain Canadian fish and seafood products.
• The Government of Canada has initiated dispute settlement consultations with China at the World Trade Organization in response to these unjustified tariffs.

If Pressed on American Tariffs
• At this time, Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) compliant goods remain exempt from U.S. tariffs. Under the Agreement, there is no U.S. tariff on Canadian fish and seafood imported to the U.S.