Trump threatens 100 percent tariff on Canada over China deal

al Jazeera:

Trump threatens 100 percent tariff on Canada over China deal

Donald Trump’s threat comes after Canada reached deal with China last week on trade of agriproducts, electric vehicles

Tensions escalated this week between United States President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney after Carney's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos [AFP]

ByJillian Kestler-D'Amours
Published On 24 Jan 2026

Montreal, Canada – United States President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff against Canada if Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney moves ahead with an announced trade deal with China.

In a statement shared on Truth Social on Saturday morning, Trump said Carney is “sorely mistaken” if he thinks Canada can become a “‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States”.

“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 U.S.A,” Trump wrote in the post, which referred to Carney as “governor” instead of prime minister.

Carney’s office did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on Trump’s remarks.

The Canadian minister responsible for Canada-US trade, Dominic LeBlanc, said on X later on Saturday that “there is no pursuit of a free trade deal with China”.

Instead, he described a deal announced last week between Ottawa and Beijing as a “resolution on several important tariff issues”.

“Canada’s new government is building a stronger Canadian economy, with a plan that is building our strength at home and strengthening our trading partnerships throughout the world,” LeBlanc said.



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Trump’s tariffs threat comes as tensions mounted between Canada and the US this week after Carney delivered an address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that was widely seen as a rebuke of the Trump administration’s policies.

“We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” Carney said in the speech, urging the world’s “middle powers” to deepen cooperation in the face of coercion and threats.

The prime minister’s remarks drew the ire of Trump, who responded by saying that “Canada lives because of the United States”. “Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements,” he said in Davos.

Trump also revoked an invitation for Carney to join his so-called “Board of Peace” this week.

The US president has been threatening to impose steep levies on Canadian goods since before he formally came into office in January 2025, while he has repeatedly said he wants Canada to become the US’s “51st state”.

That has plunged ties between the North American neighbours to historic lows, and pushed Carney in recent months to seek out new economic partnerships, including with China, the European Union and Qatar.



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“This is all part of Mr Carney’s goal to lessen [Canada’s] reliance on the United States,” Asa McKercher, a professor at St Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia specialised in Canada-US relations, told Al Jazeera after the Davos speech.

“He’s a banker, so any sort of ‘diversified portfolio’ lessens our risk to certain shocks. That’s the way a banker would probably see it,” McKercher said.

“[Carney] senses the US is a risky trade and security partner, which is not a bad assessment given that Donald Trump is threatening a trade war against America’s closest allies.”

Last week, the Canadian government announced a “new strategic partnership” with China after Carney travelled to the country for talks with Chinese leaders.

The deal would see Beijing lower tariffs on canola and other agriproducts from Canada in exchange for Ottawa allowing as many as 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the Canadian market.

“At its best, the Canada-China relationship has created massive opportunities for both our peoples,” Carney said in a statement after the announcement.