The spokesperson from the Ministry of Commerce answers questions from journalists regarding the Canadian government's tightened restrictions on steel imports.

On July 18th, in response to the Canadian government's tightening of steel import restrictions, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated that Canada announced unilateral measures such as imposing tariffs on products containing Chinese steel components under the pretext of protecting its domestic industry. These actions violate WTO rules, disrupt international trade order, harm China's interests, and are typical examples of unilateralism and protectionism. China strongly opposes and is dissatisfied with this. China hopes that Canada will immediately correct its erroneous actions and stop the restrictive measures, in order to uphold the multilateral trading system and the overall China-Canada economic and trade relations. China will take all necessary measures to firmly protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. Original text: Ministry of Commerce spokesperson responds to questions regarding the Canadian government's tightened steel import restrictions Reporter Question: On July 16th local time, the Canadian Ministry of Finance website issued a notice, stating that in response to U.S. steel tariffs and global steel overcapacity, starting from August 1st, it will expand the scope of steel import tariff quotas, tighten existing quotas, and impose additional taxes on imports exceeding the quotas. In addition, a 25% additional tax will be imposed on products imported from countries other than the U.S. containing steel melted and cast in China. What is the Ministry of Commerce's comment on this? We have taken note of the relevant announcement by the Canadian government. Canada announced unilateral measures such as imposing tariffs on products containing Chinese steel components under the pretext of protecting its domestic industry. These actions violate WTO rules, disrupt international trade order, harm China's interests, and are typical examples of unilateralism and protectionism. China strongly opposes and is dissatisfied with this. In fact, the main reason for the crisis facing Canada's domestic steel industry is the unilateral tariff measures taken by the United States, but the Canadian government has evaded the main conflict and attempted to shift the industry damage to other trading partners including China. Canada's actions are unreasonable, unfounded in law, and ineffective in resolving the issue, which will seriously damage normal economic and trade cooperation between China and Canada. China hopes that Canada will immediately correct its erroneous actions and stop the restrictive measures, in order to uphold the multilateral trading system and the overall China-Canada economic and trade relations. China will take all necessary measures to firmly protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. This article is compiled from the official website of the Ministry of Commerce; GMTEight Editor: Chen Xiaoyi.