US President Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Canadian products if Canada signs a trade agreement with China.
“If Canada negotiates with China, we will immediately impose 100% tariffs on all Canadian products coming into the United States,” Trump said on Truth Social.
It is unclear which deal Trump is referring to in his social media posts. Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Carney announced a “strategic partnership” with China and agreed to reduce tariffs.
At the time, President Trump called the move “a good thing.” But tensions between the U.S. and Canada have risen recently after Prime Minister Carney said in a speech in Davos that the U.S.-led world order had collapsed.
Carney also called on other “middle powers” to unite against economic coercion by “great powers,” although he did not directly mention Trump by name.
President Trump responded to this remark in his speech the next day, saying, “Canada lives because of the United States.”
The US president also withdrew his invitation for Canada to join his new peace council.
“If you think Carney is going to turn Canada into a ‘unloading port’ for China to ship goods and goods to the United States, you are sorely mistaken,” Trump said on social media on Saturday.
The BBC has contacted the White House and Carney’s office for comment.
“We cannot pursue a free trade agreement with China,” Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a statement.
“What was achieved was the resolution of several important tariff issues.”
LeBlanc said the government is focused on building a stronger Canadian economy and strengthening trade partnerships “around the world.”
Canada has been trying to diversify its trade away from the United States, its largest trading partner, amid uncertainty over Trump’s repeated tariffs.
Under the agreement reached last week between Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping, China will lower its levy on Canadian canola oil from 85% to 15% by March, while Canada will cut its most-favored-nation tax rate on Chinese electric vehicles from 100% to 6.1%.
The deal was seen as a breakthrough after years of tense relations and tit-for-tat over tariffs and could lead to greater Chinese investment in Canada.
Carney said progress with China has created an environment in which Canada is “well-suited to the new world order.”
