This is a living page: we add entries as developments occur and correct entries if better sourcing emerges. Newest first. Last reviewed July 2026.
July 2026: Status check
The aquatic-product tariff suspension remains in effect, running through December 31, 2026. Canadian suppliers are shipping inside the open window; per-species coverage continues to be confirmed deal-by-deal. Our full analysis: the 2026 status and the end-2026 clock.
March 2026: China suspends aquatic-product tariffs
Effective March 1, 2026, China suspended the 25% tariffs on Canadian aquatic products through the end of 2026, restoring Canadian price competitiveness in the market. Reporting tied the move to a broader easing in the bilateral trade relationship. Supplier implications: what the suspension means.
March 2025: China imposes 25% retaliatory tariff
China applied a 25% tariff to roughly 49 categories of Canadian aquatic products (including lobster, crab and shrimp) in response to Canadian surtaxes on Chinese EVs, steel and aluminum announced in fall 2024. Canadian volumes to China fell sharply during the tariff year, with industry reporting citing declines around thirty percent for crab and lobster.
Late 2024: the Canadian surtaxes
Canada announced surtaxes on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum, the measures to which China’s 2025 seafood tariff responded. Seafood became the collateral theatre of a dispute that began elsewhere; it usually does.
Have a development we should log? Contact us. For the policy picture in one graphic and one page, see the tariff status page.