--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/the-price-effect-of-trade-evidence-from-the-china-shock-and-canadian-consumer-prices/" title: "The Price Effect of Trade: Evidence from the China Shock and Canadian Consumer Prices" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-02T10:39:13+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-02T10:39:13+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "Canada" - "China shock" - "consumer prices" - "CPI" - "imports" - "inflation" - "price effects" - "trade" country_focus: - "Canada" - "China" province_region: - "National" research_theme: - "Labour Markets" - "Trade" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # The Price Effect of Trade: Evidence from the China Shock and Canadian Consumer Prices Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/the-price-effect-of-trade-evidence-from-the-china-shock-and-canadian-consumer-prices/ # The Price Effect of Trade: Evidence from the China Shock and Canadian Consumer Prices [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2020-02.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Kim, Myeongwan. 2020. “The Price Effect of Trade: Evidence from the China Shock and Canadian Consumer Prices.” CSLS Research Report 2020-02. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/the-price-effect-of-trade-evidence-from-the-china-shock-and-canadian-consumer-prices/ ## Author: - Myeongwan Kim Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## Report 2020-02 June 2020 42 pages ## Related research [Measuring the Appropriate Outcomes for Better Decision-Making: A Framework to Guide the Analysis of Health Policy Matthew Calver March 2016 | Report 2016-03 | 132 pages](https://csls.ca/research/measuring-the-appropriate-outcomes-for-better-decision-making-a-framework-to-guide-the-analysis-of-health-policy-2016-03/) [Living Standards Domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing Andrew Sharpe, Christopher Ross November 2011 | Report 2011-17 | 124 pages](https://csls.ca/research/living-standards-domain-of-the-canadian-index-of-wellbeing-2011-17/) [Productivity: Key to Economic Success Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) March 1998 | Report 1998-01 | 99 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-key-to-economic-success/) [Apprenticeship in Canada: A Training System Under Siege? 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In this paper, we look at the impact of Chinese imports on the prices Canadians pay for household consumption goods. We find Canadians have benefited from lower prices on some goods and lower inflation overall. To quantify the importance of Chinese imports for individual consumer products and map them to consumer price data, we construct concordance between products in the consumer price index (CPI) and commodities in the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System. We estimate that over the 2001-2011 period, cumulative inflation would have been 1.17-percentage-points higher for the total CPI had there been no change in the Chinese share of total imports in Canada. This assumes other factors are held constant. The average annual inflation for the total CPI was 2.1 per cent over the 2001-2011 period, implying that annual inflation would have been about 0.12-percentage-points higher if there had not been a surge in imports from China. La croissance fulgurante des importations chinoises au Canada au cours des deux dernières décennies a eu des effets à la fois négatifs et positifs. Dans cet article, nous examinons l’incidence des importations chinoises sur les prix que paient les Canadiens pour les biens de consommation des ménages. Nous constatons que les Canadiens ont bénéficié de prix plus bas pour certains biens et d’une inflation globale plus faible. Afin de quantifier l’importance des importations chinoises pour des produits de consommation particuliers et de les associer aux données sur les prix à la consommation, nous établissons une concordance entre les produits de l’Indice des prix à la consommation (IPC) et les marchandises du Système harmonisé de désignation et de codification des marchandises. Nous estimons que, sur la période 2001-2011, l’inflation cumulative aurait été supérieure de 1,17 point de pourcentage pour l’IPC total s’il n’y avait pas eu de changement dans la part chinoise des importations totales au Canada, toutes choses étant égales par ailleurs. L’inflation annuelle moyenne pour l’IPC total s’est établie à 2,1 % sur la période 2001-2011, ce qui implique que l’inflation annuelle aurait été supérieure d’environ 0,12 point de pourcentage en l’absence d’une hausse des importations en provenance de la Chine. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2020-02.pdf)