Canadian cannabis exporters have avoided steep tariffs—at least for now—after Israel’s Finance Minister stepped in to block a controversial plan to impose duties as high as 165% on marijuana imported from Canada.
The decision halts a proposal put forward on April 10 by Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat. That plan would have imposed massive anti-dumping tariffs on Canadian cannabis, pending approval from the Knesset’s Finance Committee and final sign-off from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
In a letter to Barkat, Smotrich made his opposition clear, stating: “I oppose the decision to impose an anti-dumping duty on the import of cannabis flowers from Canada,” unless he later decides otherwise.
Smotrich criticized the timing of the original announcement, which came on the eve of Passover, when most government staff—including his own ministry—were on holiday and unable to conduct a thorough review. He indicated that while he intends to revisit the issue in the coming days, any change in his position would be communicated directly to Barkat.
“If my opinion changes as a result of deeper review, you can renew your contact with me again, and we will move forward with the decision by agreement,” Smotrich wrote.
Tzvi Lefler, CEO of Israeli-based K&K Consultants Ltd., said the move to impose tariffs would harm patients more than Canadian producers.
“They know exactly who is doing what. They have the invoices. They know exactly who is selling at what price,” said Lefler. “So why punish everybody? This punishes medical patients in Israel.”
Lefler added that the Ministry of Economy and Industry was using flawed comparisons, calculating Canadian cannabis value based on recreational prices in Canada rather than those associated with medical exports, which come with higher costs.
Israel’s Ministry of Health, Global Affairs Canada, and multiple Canadian producers have also come out against the tariff proposal.
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