US leader threatens 100% tariff on all Canadian goods over China trade deal

US President Donald Trump has warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he will impose a 100% tariff on all goods coming over the border. Photo / Mandel Ngan, AFP

United States President Donald Trump has warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he will impose a 100% tariff on all goods coming over the border.

Relations between the US and its northern neighbour have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order.

During a visit to Beijing last week, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs. Trump warned of serious consequences should that deal be realised.

If Carney “thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the US, he is sorely mistaken”, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

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

“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.”

Trump insulted Carney by calling him “Governor” - a swipe referring to the US President’s repeated insistence that Canada should be the 51st US state.

Trump this week posted an image on social media of a map with Canada – as well as Greenland and Venezuela – covered by the American flag.

Canada’s minister responsible for trade with the US, Dominic LeBlanc, pushed back against Trump’s latest threat.

“There is no pursuit of a free trade deal with China. What was achieved was resolution on several important tariff issues,” he wrote on X.

‘Canada thrives because we are Canadian’

The two leaders have sharpened their rhetorical knives in recent days, beginning with Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he earned a standing ovation for his frank assessment of a “rupture” in the US-led global order.

His comment was widely viewed as a reference to Trump’s disruptive influence on international affairs, although Carney did not mention the US leader by name.

Trump fired back at Carney in his own speech at the forum and then withdrew an invitation for the Canadian Prime Minister to join his “Board of Peace” – his self-styled body for resolving global conflict.

Initially designed to oversee the situation in post-war Gaza, the body appears now to have a far wider scope, sparking concerns that Trump wants to create a rival to the United Nations.

“Canada lives because of the US. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements,” Trump said in his speech.

Carney shot back on Friday NZT: “Canada doesn’t live because of the US. Canada thrives because we are Canadian”. He nevertheless acknowledged the “remarkable partnership” between the two nations.

Trade spats

Canada heavily relies on trade with the US, the destination for more than three-quarters of Canadian exports.

Key Canadian sectors like auto, aluminium and steel have been hit hard by Trump’s global sectoral tariffs, but the levies’ impacts have been muted by the President’s broad adherence to an existing North American free trade agreement.

Negotiations on revising that deal are set for early this year, and Trump has repeatedly insisted that the US doesn’t need access to any Canadian products - which would have sweeping consequences for its northern neighbour.

Matthew Holmes, executive vice-president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that he hoped the two governments would “come to a better understanding quickly that can alleviate further concerns for businesses”.

The two nations, with Mexico, are set to host the World Cup later this year.

- Agence France-Presse