Donald Trump has issued a warning of imposing a 100% tariff on products brought in from Canada if the country strikes a trade agreement with China.
The US President expressed his discontent on Truth Social, directing his message to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, cautioning that using Canada as a conduit for Chinese goods to reach the US would not be tolerated.
Despite Trump engaging in a trade dispute for the past year, Canada recently finalized a deal to decrease tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for reduced import duties on Canadian agricultural goods. Initially, Trump praised this agreement, suggesting it was a positive step for Carney to take.
However, in a recent outburst, Trump painted a bleak picture, warning that Canada would suffer dire consequences if it partners with China, facing complete economic devastation and societal upheaval. He firmly stated that any trade deal between Canada and China would result in a hefty 100% tariff on all Canadian imports into the US.
This social media post follows Trump’s controversial speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he made inaccurate statements about Iceland, Greenland, and NATO. Trump had previously threatened tariffs on eight European nations, including the UK, but later retracted these threats after suggesting progress towards a future agreement regarding Greenland.
As a result, the US will not be implementing the planned 10% tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland from February 1. Trump had earlier hinted at raising these tariffs to 25% by June 1.
Following a constructive meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump announced that a deal framework concerning Greenland had been established. Consequently, he declared that the scheduled tariffs set for February 1 would not be enforced based on this understanding.