US President Donald Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on Canada after Ottawa moved to reset trade ties with China, reigniting fears of a renewed North American trade war just months after tensions appeared to cool.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said Canada would face a 100% tariff on all goods entering the US if it followed through on agreements with Beijing that he said could funnel Chinese products into American markets.
Trump accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of trying to turn Canada into a “drop off port” for Chinese exports, a claim that underscores Washington’s deepening unease over Beijing’s global trade ambitions.
“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 wrote, using a title he has repeatedly deployed to needle Canadian leaders.
The threat marked a sharp shift in tone from earlier remarks in which Trump had publicly encouraged Canada to engage China, saying: “If you can get a deal with China, you should do that.”
The reversal highlights the volatility of US trade policy as Trump presses allies to align more closely with Washington’s efforts to curb Chinese exports.
Canada-China reset draws US ire
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The dispute follows a visit by Carney to Beijing last week, the first by a Canadian prime minister in nearly a decade.
Canada and China agreed to lift trade barriers on electric vehicles and canola as part of a broader effort to mend strained relations.
Ottawa also agreed to accept imports of up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles at a tariff of 6.1%, down sharply from the effective 100% barrier imposed by the US through tariffs and regulatory restrictions.
Carney is seeking to diversify Canada’s trade relationships and reduce reliance on the US, which absorbs roughly three-quarters of Canadian exports.
His government has pledged to double exports to non-US partners over the next decade, with China seen as a critical, if politically sensitive, market.
Davos exchange sharpens rhetoric
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Tensions resurfaced publicly this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Carney won praise for a speech warning that the rules-based international order was experiencing a “rupture, not a transition,” and urging middle powers to work together.
While he avoided naming Trump, the remarks were widely interpreted as a rebuke of Washington’s increasingly coercive trade posture.
Trump responded bluntly in his own Davos comments. “Canada lives because of the United States,” he said.
“Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”
US officials echoed the criticism. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warned Canada against deepening ties with China, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent raised Alberta’s separatist rhetoric, comments that drew a sharp rebuke from Canadian business leaders.
“There are lines that are being crossed here,” said Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada, calling the remarks on Alberta sovereignty “entirely inappropriate” and urging leaders to de-escalate before economic damage spreads.
