Trump Threatens Canada With 100% Tariffs Over Trade Deal With China

US President Donald Trump threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on goods imported from Canada if they went ahead with their trade deal with China. In a Truth Social post, Trump lambasted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and said that if he "thinks he is going to make Canada a "Drop Off Port" for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken."

"If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the USA," he said.

"China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life," he said.

Canada-China 'Landmark' Deal

Canada has sought to reduce its reliance on the US by agreeing on a "landmark deal" with China under a "new strategic partnership".

"Canada and China have reached a preliminary but landmark trade agreement to remove trade barriers and reduce tariffs," Carney told a news conference after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

Under the deal, China, which used to be Canada's largest market for canola seed, will reduce tariffs on canola products by March 1 to around 15 per cent, down from the current 84 per cent.

China will also allow Canadian visitors to enter the country visa‑free. In turn, Canada will import 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) under new, preferential tariffs of 6.1 per cent.

The relations between China and Canada took a downturn after Canadian authorities arrested the daughter of Huawei's founder on a US warrant. In retaliation, China detained two Canadians on espionage charges.

After that, the two countries imposed tariffs on each other's exports. However, China said that it wants to get relations with Canada back on "the right track", and Carney has also sought a pivot.

After Canada's key economic partner and traditional ally, the US, raised tariffs on Canadian products, Ottawa has sought business elsewhere.

Canada-US Spat

The war of words between the two leaders escalated over the past week, starting with Carney's address at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday. His blunt warning of a "fracture" in the US-led global order drew a standing ovation.

Although Carney did not name Trump directly, his remarks were widely interpreted as a swipe at the US president's destabilising approach to global diplomacy.

Trump responded the following day in his own speech, before going a step further by rescinding an invitation for the Canadian prime minister to join his so-called "Board of Peace" - a body Trump has promoted as a mechanism to resolve international conflicts.

Originally envisioned as a forum to manage post-war Gaza, the initiative now appears to be expanding in ambition, fuelling speculation that Trump is positioning it as an alternative to the United Nations.

In a national address on Thursday, Carney declared that "Canada doesn't live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian," while still recognising what he described as the "remarkable partnership" between the two countries.