WASHINGTON: The United States will impose 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports should Ottawa finalise a new trade deal with China, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday (Jan 25), amplifying a similar threat from President Donald Trump a day earlier.
“We can’t let Canada become an opening that the Chinese pour their cheap goods into the US,” Bessent said on ABC’s This Week.
During a visit to Beijing on Jan 16, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a thaw in bilateral relations with China, saying the two countries had struck a “new strategic partnership” and a preliminary trade deal.
Under the deal, China is expected to reduce tariffs on canola imports from Canada by Mar 1 to around 15 per cent, down from the current 84 per cent.
China will also allow Canadian visitors to enter the country visa-free. In turn, Canada will import 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) under new, preferential tariffs of 6.1 per cent.
The deal came amid a US-Canada trade war, with the Trump administration imposing import duties on its northern neighbour.
When Bessent was asked to clarify whether Washington would make good on a threat made by Trump on Saturday to impose tariffs of 100 per cent on Canadian imports, the Treasury chief replied: “There’s possibility of 100 per cent tariffs if they do a free trade deal.”
He added that the new tariffs would be imposed “if they go further, if we see that the Canadians are allowing the Chinese to dump goods”.
Trump himself took to his Truth Social platform Sunday to comment on the negotiations between Ottawa and Beijing, writing: “China is successfully and completely taking over the once Great Country of Canada. So sad to see it happen.”
“I only hope they leave Ice Hockey alone!” he added, in reference to Canada’s national sport.