US President Donald Trump declared on Saturday, that it will impose 100 percent tariffs on Canada if it makes a trade deal with China. He also warned Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that such a deal would endanger his country. TASR informs about it according to a Reuters report. “China will completely absorb Canada, destroy its businesses, social fabric and general way of life,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social social network.
“If Canada makes a deal with China, the US will immediately impose 100 percent tariffs on all Canadian goods and products imported into the United States,” he warned. Although Carney did not directly mention Trump’s threats, in his video on Saturday urged Canadians to buy domestic products. “We can’t control what other nations do, but we can be our own best customers,” he said.
The Canadian Prime Minister visited China this month, to restore strained relations between the countries and reach a trade deal with Canada’s second largest trading partner after the US. The countries finally agreed to mutually reduce tariffs on their products, and China also pledged to allow Canadian visitors to enter the country without a visa. Right after Carney’s trip to China, Trump offered words of support. “It’s good that he signed a trade deal,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
„If you can make a deal with China, you should,” he emphasized at the time. However, tensions between the US and Canada have been rising in recent days following Carney’s criticism of Trump’s interest in Greenland. On Saturday, the head of the White House indicated that China would try use Canada to circumvent US tariffs. “If Governor Carney thinks he’s going to make Canada a ‘port’ through which China will send goods and products to the United States, he’s very wrong,” Trump said, using the title of ‘governor’ as a reference to his previous statements that Canada should become part of the US.
“The last thing the world needs is for China to take control of Canada. That will NOT happen, not even close to it!” Trump said in his second post on the same day. Canada’s minister responsible for trade between Canada and the US, Dominic LeBlanc, also emphasized on the X platform on Saturday that Canada is not seeking “any free trade agreement with China.” He added, that during the negotiations with Beijing they only achieved a solution to a few important customs issues.
