President Trump on Saturday threatened to impose 100% tariffs on goods imported from Canada if the United States’ northern neighbor continued its trade deal with China.
Mr. Trump said in a social media post that if Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney “thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘port of depot’ for China to send goods and products to the United States, he is sorely mistaken.”
“If Canada enters into an agreement with China, it will immediately face 100% tariffs on all Canadian goods and products entering the United States,” he posted on Truth Social.
While Mr. Trump has waged a trade war over the past year, Canada negotiated a deal this month to reduce tariffs on Chinese goods. electric vehicles in exchange for lower import taxes on Canadian agricultural products.
Mr. Trump initially said the deal was what Carney “should be doing and it was a good thing for him to sign a trade deal.”
Carney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Trump’s threat came amid an escalating war of words with Carney as the Republican president tried to acquire Greenland strained the NATO alliance. Mr. Trump declared this week in Davos, Switzerland, that “Canada lives thanks to the United States.” Carney countered that his nation can be an example that the world does not have to bow to autocratic tendencies.
Mr. Trump later revoked his invitation to Carney join the Presidential Peace Council he is forming to try to resolve global conflicts. The president announced the decision in a message to Carney on Social truthstating that the Peace Council “withdraws at any time its invitation for Canada’s membership in what will be the most prestigious Council of Leaders ever assembled.”
Mr. Trump’s efforts to acquire Greenland come after he repeatedly criticized Canada over its sovereignty and suggested it also be absorbed into the United States as a country. 51st state.
He repeated that this week by posting an edited image on social media showing a map of the United States including Canada, Venezuela, Greenland and Cuba on its territory.
In his message on Saturday, Mr. Trump continued his provocations by calling the Canadian leader “Governor Carney.” Mr. Trump had used the same nickname for Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, and its use toward Carney was the latest mark of their soured relationship.
Carney has yet to reach an agreement with Mr. Trump to reduce some of the tariffs he has imposed on key sectors of the Canadian economy. But Canada was shielded from the brunt of Trump’s tariffs thanks to the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. This trade agreement is due to be revised this year.