Trump threatens Canada with tariffs if it makes deal with China
President Donald Trump on Saturday told Canada if it makes a trade deal with China, he will impose a 100% tariff on the country’s goods.
In a post on Truth Social, he called Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney “governor,” and went on to say that if he “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.”
“China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life,” Trump wrote.
He said in subsequent posts that the “last thing the World needs is to have China take over Canada.”
This is a shift from what Trump said a little more than a week ago, when Canada and China first agreed to a “new strategic partnership.” Under this arrangement, Canada lowered tariffs on electric vehicles from China, while China did the same for Canadian agricultural products.
“That’s OK. That’s what he should be doing. I mean, it’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do that,” Trump initially said to reporters after the partnership was announced.
However, days later, Carney, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, criticized tariffs on several European countries Trump threatened to put into place unless a deal is struck for the U.S. to own Greenland. The president has said he wants Greenland for national security reasons, though foreign policy experts dispute that buying the island would be necessary.
“Canada strongly opposes tariffs over Greenland and calls for focused talks to achieve our shared objectives of security and prosperity in the Arctic,” Carney said Tuesday. “On Arctic sovereignty, we stand firmly with Greenland and Denmark and fully support their unique right to determine Greenland’s future.”
Trump this week announced he’s taking these tariffs off the table, though, after he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte worked out “the framework of a future deal” on Greenland.
On Wednesday, Trump called Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney “ungrateful” for his response.
“We’re building a Golden Dome that’s going to, just by its very nature, be defending Canada. Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way,” Trump said. “They should be grateful also, but they’re not. I watched your prime minister yesterday. He wasn’t so grateful.”
Added Trump: “Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that Mark, the next time you make your statements.”
During a speech after his return from Davos the next Day, Carney said “Canada and the United States have built a remarkable partnership in the economy, in security, and in rich cultural exchange.”
However, he said, “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.”
Following these exchanges, Trump took back an invitation for Carney to join the “Board of Peace” meant to oversee global affairs — which the prime minister formerly said he’d accept.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
