Trump threatens 100% tariff on Canadian goods over China deal
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 100% tariff on all Canadian goods entering the United States if Canada allows China to use it as a transit point for exports to America, Trump wrote on January 24.
"If Governor Carney 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," Trump said in a post on his social media platform, referring to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The threat marks a reversal from Trump's position just last week, when he said Canada's trade agreement with China was "a good thing" and that Carney "should be doing" such deals.
The Canada-China agreement, announced during Carney's visit to Beijing, includes cutting Canada's 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles to 6.1% for up to 49,000 vehicles in exchange for lower Chinese tariffs on Canadian farm products including canola.
Trump warned that such an arrangement would have severe consequences for Canada's economy.
"China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life," the president wrote.
The threat represents a significant escalation in US-Canada trade tensions, with Trump appearing to link Canadian trade policy with China to potential punitive tariffs.
"If Canada makes a deal with China, it will be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the U.S.A.," Trump stated.
The warning follows clashes between the two leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, where Carney delivered a speech about a "rupture" in the US-led global order that earned him a standing ovation,
"Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition," Carney told the audience, earning a rare standing ovation for his address. "The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy."
Without naming US President Donald Trump, Carney's address was widely interpreted as a direct challenge to American foreign policy, particularly Trump's threats to seize Greenland and impose tariffs on European nations.
The speech came after Trump had posted images on social media showing the American flag extending over Canada, Greenland and Venezuela.
Trump has also withdrawn Carney's invitation to join his "Board of Peace" initiative and said during his own Davos speech that "Canada lives because of the United States".
Trump threatens Canada with 100% tariff over its trade deal with China
In his latest social media outburst, US President Donald Trump escalated an intensifying feud with Canada's Mark Carney.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 100% tariff on goods imported from Canada if its northern neighbour goes ahead with its trade deal with China.
Trump said in a social media post that if Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney “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.”
While Trump has waged a trade war over the past year, Canada this month negotiated a deal to lower tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in return for lower import taxes on Canadian farm products.
Trump initially had said that agreement was what Carney “should be doing and it’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal.”
Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister responsible for trade with the United States, said Canada and China had resolved “several important trade issues” but there was no pursuit of a free-trade agreement
Trump’s threat came amid an escalating war of words with Carney as the Republican president’s push to acquire Greenland strained the NATO alliance. Trump had commented while in Davos, Switzerland, this week that “Canada lives because of the United States.”
Carney shot back that his nation can be an example that the world does not have to bend toward autocratic tendencies. “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian,” he said.
Trump later revoked his invitation to Carney to join his “Board of Peace”, which the US President has said he is forming to try to resolve global conflicts.
Trump's push to acquire Greenland came after he has repeatedly questioned Canada's sovereignty and suggested it also be absorbed the United States as a 51st state. He posted an altered image on social media this week showing a map of the United States that included Canada, Venezuela, Greenland and Cuba as part of its territory.
In his message Saturday, Trump continued his provocations by calling Canada's leader “Governor Carney”. Trump had used the same nickname for Carney's predecessor, Justin Trudeau, and his first use of it toward Carney was the latest mark of their soured relationship.
Carney has emerged as a leader of a movement for countries to find ways to link up and counter the US under Trump. Speaking in Davos before Trump, Carney said, “middle powers must act together because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu” and he warned about coercion by great powers - without mentioning Trump’s name.
'Rupture' between US and the West
The prime minister even spoke of a “rupture” between the US under Trump and its Western allies that would never be repaired.
Trump, in his Truth Social post Saturday, also said that “China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life.” In a later post, the president said: “The last thing the world needs is to have China take over Canada. It’s not going to happen, or even come close to happening.”
Carney has not yet reached a deal with Trump to reduce some of the tariffs that he has imposed on key sectors of the Canadian economy. But Canada has been protected by the heaviest impact of Trump’s tariffs by the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement. That trade agreement is up for a review this year.
In it trade policy towards China, Canada had initially mirrored the US by putting a 100% tariff on electric vehicles from Beijing and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium. China had responded by imposing 100% import taxes on Canadian canola oil and meal and 25% on pork and seafood.
But as Trump’s pursued pressure tactics, Canada’s foreign policy has been less aligned with the US, creating an opening for an improved relationship with China. Carney made the tariff announcement earlier this month during a visit to Beijing.
Carney has said that Canada's relationship with the US is complex and deep and that Canada and China disagree on issues such as human rights.
Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (€2.3 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of US crude oil imports are from Canada, as are 85% of US electricity imports.
Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.
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