Canada has “no intention” of pursuing a free trade deal with China, Prime Minister Mark Carney said, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to slap punitive tariffs on Ottawa,
CNBC reports.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Carney said that the country respects its obligations under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement, known as CUSMA in Canada and the USMCA in the U.S., and will not pursue a free trade agreement without notifying the other two parties.
Carney’s remarks come after Trump threatened to put a 100% tariff on Canadian exports if Ottawa “makes a deal” with Beijing.
“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 posted on Truth Social Saturday.
The remarks come against the backdrop of rising tensions between the U.S. and Canada, with Trump last week withdrawing the invitation to Ottawa to join his “Board of Peace,” after Carney in his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos warned against economic coercion by the world’s superpowers.
While Carney did not name any country, Trump said on the sidelines of the WEF that “Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”
Trump’s fiery rhetoric on Truth Social contrasts with what he said after the agreement between Ottawa and Beijing earlier this month, “that’s what he [Carney] 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.”
