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US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose 100% tariffs on imports from Canada if its northern neighbor goes ahead with a trade deal with China.
President Trump said in a social media post that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney “is making a big mistake if he thinks Canada is going to be a ‘port of call’ for China to send goods and products to the United States.”
President Trump has waged a trade war over the past year, but Canada this month negotiated a deal that would lower tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for lower import duties on Canadian agricultural products.
President Trump initially said the deal was something Carney “should do, and signing trade deals is a good thing.”
Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s trade minister with the United States, said Canada and China had resolved “some important trade issues” but there was no pursuit of a free trade agreement.
Trump’s threat comes as his war of words with Carney intensifies as the Republican president’s push to acquire Greenland strains the NATO alliance. “Canada is alive because of the United States,” President Trump said at the Davos conference in Switzerland this week.
Carney countered that his country could serve as an example that the world need not succumb to authoritarian tendencies. “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadians,” he said.
President Trump subsequently rescinded Carney’s invitation to the Peace Commission, which Carney said he was establishing to resolve global conflicts.
President Trump’s push to acquire Greenland came after he repeatedly questioned Canada’s sovereignty and suggested Canada would be absorbed into the United States as the 51st state. He posted a doctored image on social media this week showing a map of the United States that includes Canada, Venezuela, Greenland and Cuba as part of its territory.
In a message Saturday, President Trump continued his taunt, calling the Canadian leader “Governor Carney.” Trump’s use of the nickname for Carney, which he also used for Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau, is the latest sign of deteriorating relations between the two.
Carney has emerged as a leader in a movement in which countries are finding ways to work with and counter the Trump-era United States. “The middle powers must act together. If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu,” Carney said in a speech at Davos ahead of Trump, warning of coercion by great powers without mentioning Trump by name.
“Breakdown” between the United States and Western countries
The prime minister even said there was a “rift” between the United States under the Trump administration and its Western allies that could never be repaired.
President Trump also said in a Truth Social post on Saturday that “China will eat Canada alive and completely devour them, including the destruction of their businesses, social structure, and general way of life.” In a later post, the president said, “The last thing the world needs is China taking over Canada. That’s not going to happen, and it’s not likely to happen.”
Carney has yet to reach an agreement to reduce some of the tariffs that Trump has imposed on key sectors of Canada’s economy. But Canada has been shielded from the biggest impact of President Trump’s tariffs through the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. That trade agreement is subject to review this year.
In its trade policy toward China, Canada initially followed the United States’ lead in imposing 100% tariffs on Chinese government electric vehicles and 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. China responded by imposing a 100% import tax on Canadian canola oil and meal and a 25% import tax on pork and seafood.
But as President Trump pursues pressure tactics, Canada’s foreign policy becomes less aligned with that of the United States, opening the door to improved relations with China. Secretary Carney announced the tariffs earlier this month during a visit to Beijing.
Secretary Carney said the relationship between Canada and the United States 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. Approximately 3.6 billion Canadian dollars (2.3 billion euros) worth of goods and services cross borders every day. Approximately 60% of US crude oil imports come from Canada, and 85% of US electricity imports also come from Canada.
Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum, and uranium to the United States, and possesses 34 critical minerals and metals that the Department of Defense invests diligently in the interests of national security.