Trump escalates Canada-US trade standoff with threat of 100 percent tariffs over China relations and recent EV deal
This comes just days after Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Carney was praised by global leaders for warning in his speech in Davos this week that “American hegemony” and other major powers were using economic integration as a weapon.
“The old order is not coming back,” he said. “We should not mourn. Nostalgia is not a strategy. Only from brokenness can we build something better, stronger and more just.”
Trump did not specify what he meant by “deal.” His comments follow a recent agreement between Canada and China that allows 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles to enter the Canadian market at a reduced tariff rate of 6.1 per cent in exchange for Beijing lowering tariffs on Canadian canola, according to the CBC News website.
“If Governor Carney thinks he will turn Canada into a ‘Dropport Port’ for China to ship goods and products to the United States, he is sorely mistaken,” the US president said.
“China will completely destroy Canada, including eating it alive and destroying its jobs, social structure and overall way of life,” Trump said.
The President later added that “the last thing the world needs is for China to take over Canada,” adding that such a situation “will not happen, or even come close to happening.” Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said, “There is no pursuit of a free trade agreement with China. What was achieved was that many significant tariff issues were resolved.”
Since returning from visits to China, Qatar and Davos, Carney has not faced questions from the media, despite publicly opposing Trump twice in the past week.
