US President Donald Trump has intensified his feud with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney by threatening to impose a 100% tariff on all goods imported from Canada if Ottawa proceeds with its China trade deal.
The threat came after Carney announced a new trade agreement with China last week, which includes lower tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for reduced import taxes on Canadian farm products. Trump had previously expressed support for this type of trade deal, but now appears to be at odds with Carney over the issue.
In a social media post, Trump stated that if Canada makes a deal with China, it will face "100% tariff" - an escalation of his previous threats against Canada's economy. The president also warned that Canada would "suffer greatly" if it signed a trade agreement with Beijing, including economic destruction and the impact on its businesses.
However, experts say that Trump's actions are more likely to have the opposite effect, strengthening ties between Canada and China. Carney has emerged as a leader of a movement for countries to counter US pressure, speaking out at the World Economic Forum in Davos about the need for middle powers to unite against coercion by great powers.
Trump's comments have also led to increased tensions with Carney, who said earlier this week that "Canada doesn't live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian." Trump later revoked his invitation to Carney to join a peace board he is forming to resolve global conflicts.
The president's push for Greenland as part of a potential US acquisition has further strained relations with Canada, which has expressed sovereignty concerns and suggested it could be absorbed into the United States as the 51st state. Trump has repeatedly needled Canada over its sovereignty, using nicknames like "Governor Carney" to refer to the prime minister.
A Canadian trade official said that Ottawa had resolved several key trade issues with China but was not pursuing a free-trade agreement. The deal includes reduced tariffs on electric vehicles from Beijing and lowered import taxes on Canadian farm products.
Canada's economy has been largely shielded from US tariffs by the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement, which is up for review this year. A recent anti-tariff ad in Ontario used Ronald Reagan quotes to criticize US tariffs, prompting Trump to end trade talks with Canada.
The stakes are high given the economic interdependence between the US and Canada, with $3.6 billion worth of goods crossing the border daily and 60% of US crude oil imports coming from Canada.
The threat came after Carney announced a new trade agreement with China last week, which includes lower tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for reduced import taxes on Canadian farm products. Trump had previously expressed support for this type of trade deal, but now appears to be at odds with Carney over the issue.
In a social media post, Trump stated that if Canada makes a deal with China, it will face "100% tariff" - an escalation of his previous threats against Canada's economy. The president also warned that Canada would "suffer greatly" if it signed a trade agreement with Beijing, including economic destruction and the impact on its businesses.
However, experts say that Trump's actions are more likely to have the opposite effect, strengthening ties between Canada and China. Carney has emerged as a leader of a movement for countries to counter US pressure, speaking out at the World Economic Forum in Davos about the need for middle powers to unite against coercion by great powers.
Trump's comments have also led to increased tensions with Carney, who said earlier this week that "Canada doesn't live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian." Trump later revoked his invitation to Carney to join a peace board he is forming to resolve global conflicts.
The president's push for Greenland as part of a potential US acquisition has further strained relations with Canada, which has expressed sovereignty concerns and suggested it could be absorbed into the United States as the 51st state. Trump has repeatedly needled Canada over its sovereignty, using nicknames like "Governor Carney" to refer to the prime minister.
A Canadian trade official said that Ottawa had resolved several key trade issues with China but was not pursuing a free-trade agreement. The deal includes reduced tariffs on electric vehicles from Beijing and lowered import taxes on Canadian farm products.
Canada's economy has been largely shielded from US tariffs by the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement, which is up for review this year. A recent anti-tariff ad in Ontario used Ronald Reagan quotes to criticize US tariffs, prompting Trump to end trade talks with Canada.
The stakes are high given the economic interdependence between the US and Canada, with $3.6 billion worth of goods crossing the border daily and 60% of US crude oil imports coming from Canada.
I get that he's trying to protect American industries but a 100% tariff on Canadian goods? That's gonna hurt everyday Canadians more than it'll help American businesses 
Carney's got a point, Canada doesn't rely solely on the US for its economy. We're actually pretty good at standing up for ourselves 
The China deal might just be the wake-up call we needed to start pushing back against US pressure. It's all about strategic trade and not letting the US bully us around 
canada's economy wouldnt be able to take it lol, plus with china trade deal in the works, its like, trump's just trying to isolate himself from the rest of the world 
Trump's all like canada needs us lol @ Carney responding back "we r canadian" 
anyway i think its gonna b a big deal if they go thru w/ trade deal w/ china Trudeau (not carney btw) needs 2 step up & talk 2 trump bout dis... maybe we shud get involved? 
canada's economy depends on us so much & im not sure wht would happen if tarrifs come 
! Like, what's up with threatening to slap a 100% tariff on all Canadian goods? That's not gonna sit well with Carney or Canadians for that matter. It's like, chill dude 
, you can't just dictate terms to everyone else in the world and expect them to roll over 
.
. And let's be real, Carney is totally right when he says Canada doesn't need the US to survive 
. This whole thing is just getting more and more ridiculous by the minute...
It feels like he's trying to provoke Carney on purpose. I think Carney's right though, we shouldn't be dictated to by a single country. The whole "we don't live because of you" thing was pretty sharp 
. And yeah, Trump's comments have only made things worse... I guess we'll just see how this all plays out 
. If Canada signs it, they'll be stronger and more protected from US tariffs. But if Trump's got his way, that just means more conflict between the two countries 