US President Donald Trump has threatened to slap a 100% tariff on Canadian goods if the country makes a trade deal with China, escalating tensions between the U.S. and its neighbour.
Trump, referring to prime minister Mark Carney as “Governor Carney,” said the Canadian leader is “sorely mistaken” for opening up his country to more business from China.
“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. China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life. 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 U.S.A.,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“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!” the president added in a follow-up post to his social media platform.
Last week, Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney announced a “strategic partnership” with China, focusing on energy, agri-food, and trade and agreed to reduce tariffs.
Under the agreement reached between Carney and Chinese president Xi Jinping, China will lower tariffs on Canadian canola seed to a combined rate of approximately 15% by March, while Canada will tax Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), as the government said, at the “most-favoured-nation tariff rate of 6.1%.”
Furthermore, Canada has set a goal to increase exports to China by 50% by 2030. To achieve this outcome, both leaders discussed increasing two-way investment in clean energy and technology, agri-food, wood products, and other sectors.
The two sides concurred to support exchanges and cooperation in clean energy, and strengthen cooperation in conventional energy such as oil and gas resource development. The two sides decided to launch a Ministerial Energy Dialogue to outline key areas to support two-way investment and trade in clean and conventional energy.
China is the second-largest single-country trading partner to Canada, totalling $118.9bn in two-way merchandise trade in 2024. Canadian merchandise exports to China were $30bn, while merchandise imports were $88.9bn.
China is Canada’s second-largest customer globally for agriculture, forest products, and seafood products, with sales of approximately $13.4bn in 2024.
The Canadian politician made no secret of his purpose. Carney visited Beijing and held talks with the Chinese president that aimed to rebuild cooperation between the two countries, including an expansion of trade partnerships in the face of pressure and tariff threats from the U.S.
Carney quoted saying that the new strategic partnership can bring “huge gains” to both countries. While in Beijing, the prime minister met business leaders in energy and clean technology to identify and accelerate Chinese investment opportunities in Canada.
With this new trade agreement, Canada said it expects to see a resolution of many long-term trade obstacles for a range of important agricultural sectors, from beef to pet food.
Trump issued further comments on the developing Canada-China deal on Sunday, again warning that any deal would lead Canada to “systematically” destroy itself.
“The China deal is a disaster for them. Will go down as one of the worst deals, of any kind, in history. All their businesses are moving to the USA. I want to see Canada SURVIVE AND THRIVE!” he wrote on Truth Social.
In a subsequent post, Trump wrote: “China is successfully and completely taking over the once Great Country of Canada. So sad to see it happen. I only hope they leave Ice Hockey alone!”
