Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Canada if it secures a trade deal with China just days after Mark Carney suggested the US was “rupturing” the world order.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president accused the Canadian prime minister of trying to make Canada a “drop off port” for Chinese goods. Mr Trump threatened to reignite a trade war after months of detente.

Canada and China agreed to remove trade barriers on electric vehicles and canola after Mr Carney met Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing last week. The visit was partly designed to help Ottawa diversify its trade relationships.

Mr Trump initially encouraged Carney to improve economic relations with China, saying: “If you can get a deal with China, you should do that.” On Saturday, however, he adopted a new tone in his post on Truth Social.

“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,” Mr Trump wrote, using the “governor” title in a perceived attempt to goad Mr Carney.

“If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with 100 per cent tariffs against all Canadian goods and products.”

In response, Dominic LeBlanc, the Canadian minister responsible for Canada-US trade, said on X that “there is no pursuit of a free trade deal with China”.

“What was achieved was resolution on several important tariff issues,” he wrote. “Canada and the US have built a remarkable partnership in our economy and security – and we will remain focused on ensuring the future of that relationship will benefit workers and businesses on both sides of our border.”

Mr Trump’s threats followed a tumultuous week in which he warned that he would impose steep tariffs on European countries over Greenland before backing down.

That reversal followed a pattern that has played out over the first year of his second presidency, in which he threatens punitive tariffs – often when financial markets are closed – before offering significant exemptions, suspensions or completely backing off.

Early in his term, he threatened to impose big levies on Canada and Mexico before offering exemptions that allowed most trade avoid the tariffs.

The new threat comes four months after Mr Trump met Mr Xi in South Korea and negotiated a truce in the US-China trade war. He is expected to visit China in April and is hoping to reach another trade deal with the Chinese leader.

It also follows tensions between the US president and Mr Carney at Davos. The Canadian leader won praise for a speech arguing that the rules-based international order was undergoing a “rupture”. Mr Carney did not mention Mr Trump by name, but the speech was widely seen as a rebuke of the US president’s erratic behaviour, including seeking to buy Greenland from Nato ally Denmark.

Mr Trump hit back at the World Economic Forum, saying: “Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”

In a break with the US, which has in effect blocked imports of Chinese electric vehicles using tariffs, Canada agreed to accept imports of 49,000 Chinese electric cars with a 6.1 per cent tariff, down from 100 per cent.

The decision could blow up trade talks between the US and Canada as part of their review of the 2020 USMCA trade deal, which also includes Mexico. The US is concerned that Chinese companies are using Mexico as a base to export into the US, securing lower tariffs. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026