WASHINGTON, Jan 24 - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that he would enact a 100% tariff on Canadian imports if Canada pursues a trade agreement with China, and he warned that such a deal would imperil the country.
Posting on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life." He added a direct economic threat: "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."
The U.S. president specifically addressed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, saying that if Carney believed Canada could act as a conduit for Chinese goods to enter the United States and thereby avoid U.S. tariffs, he was mistaken. Trump wrote: "If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a 'Drop Off Port' for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken."
Carney recently traveled to China, where he described the country as a "reliable and predictable partner." During remarks in Davos, Carney urged European leaders to pursue investment opportunities from what the article described as the world’s second-largest economy.
Relations between Washington and Ottawa have become more strained in the past several days. On Thursday, Trump withdrew an invitation for Canada to participate in his Board of Peace initiative, a U.S.-led effort aimed at resolving global conflicts. The decision to rescind the invitation followed Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, in which he criticized powerful nations that use economic integration as a weapon and leverage tariffs as coercive tools.
The exchanges mark an escalation in rhetoric and policy threat between the two neighbors, centering on the potential economic and political consequences of closer ties between Canada and China. The U.S. president’s post on Truth Social framed the prospect of a Canada-China agreement as a direct threat to Canadian businesses and the fabric of Canadian society, and he committed to immediate retaliatory tariffs should such an agreement be reached.