Trump threatens to impose 100% tariff if Canada makes deal with China

President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that the U.S. would impose 100% tariff on goods sold in the U.S. if the country strikes a trade deal with China.

“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 president wrote in a Truth Social post.

Trump also suggested Saturday that China would try to use Canada to try to avoid paying U.S. tariffs.

“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 stated.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada and China reached a preliminary deal to remove trade barriers and lower tariffs. Under the tentative agreement, Beijing cut tariffs on some Canadian agricultural products, while Ottawa increased the quotas for imports of Chinese electric vehicles, applying the most-favored-nation tariff rate of 6.1%.

Just a week ago, Trump had voiced his support for Carney on the China trade deal.

“That’s what he should be doing. 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 told reporters at the White House on Jan. 16.

“Canada’s government has transparently outlined that the agreement with China is fundamentally about domestic consumers and businesses in Canada and China, not schemes aimed at other markets,” Matthew Holmes, executive vice president and chief of public policy of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said in a statement.

“A structured and stable relationship with China or any other country … are not to replace our deeply rooted relationship with the United States that continues to be overwhelmingly good for workers, consumers and North American competitiveness,” he added.   

The White House and the office of the Canadian prime minister didn’t immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.

In August 2025, Trump raised the tariff on Canadian goods to 35%. Duties aren’t imposed on most Canadian exports under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), but some goods, including steel, copper and certain autos and auto parts, are subject to U.S. tariffs.

The new tariff threat comes one day after Trump withdrew the invitation to Canada to join his “Board of Peace” after Carney’s address at the World Economic Forum in Davos that cautioned against economic coercion by the world’s superpowers.

In his speech, Carney said the world’s “middle powers” must band together to resist coercion from the world’s largest powers.

Carney said last week that he intended to join the board but the details hadn’t been worked out. States seeking a permanent board seat would have to pay a $1 billion fee.

— Reuters contributed to this report.