Trump threatens 100% tariff on Canadian goods over China deal

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 100% tariff on all Canadian goods entering the United States if Canada allows China to use it as a transit point for exports to America, Trump wrote on January 24.

"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," Trump said in a post on his social media platform, referring to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The threat marks a reversal from Trump's position just last week, when he said Canada's trade agreement with China was "a good thing" and that Carney "should be doing" such deals.

The Canada-China agreement, announced during Carney's visit to Beijing, includes cutting Canada's 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles to 6.1% for up to 49,000 vehicles in exchange for lower Chinese tariffs on Canadian farm products including canola.

Trump warned that such an arrangement would have severe consequences for Canada's economy.

"China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life," the president wrote.

The threat represents a significant escalation in US-Canada trade tensions, with Trump appearing to link Canadian trade policy with China to potential punitive tariffs.

"If Canada makes a deal with China, it will be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the U.S.A.," Trump stated.

The warning follows clashes between the two leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, where Carney delivered a speech about a "rupture" in the US-led global order that earned him a standing ovation,

"Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition," Carney told the audience, earning a rare standing ovation for his address. "The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy."

Without naming US President Donald Trump, Carney's address was widely interpreted as a direct challenge to American foreign policy, particularly Trump's threats to seize Greenland and impose tariffs on European nations.

The speech came after Trump had posted images on social media showing the American flag extending over Canada, Greenland and Venezuela.

Trump has also withdrawn Carney's invitation to join his "Board of Peace" initiative and said during his own Davos speech that "Canada lives because of the United States".