US President Donald Trump has warned Canada not to move forward with a trade deal with China. He has threatened to impose a one-time percentage tariff on goods coming from Canada to the US if the trade deal goes through.

US President Donald Trump has warned Canada not to move forward with a trade deal with China. He has threatened to impose a one-time rate tariff on goods coming from Canada to the US if the trade deal is done. 

In response, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called for the use of domestic goods. On Saturday, he released a video message on the social network X, saying that the Canadian economy is under threat from abroad.  

‘Our economy is facing challenges from abroad. Canadians should pay attention: What can we control ,’ he said, ‘Let’s support Canadian businesses. Let’s build housing and infrastructure for large projects using Canadian technology and Canadian manpower. We can’t control what other countries do. But we can be our own best consumers. Buy Canadian goods, make them in Canada. Let's make Canada stronger together.'

Earlier, Trump had accused Canada of planning to send goods from China to the US on social media. 'If Carney is thinking of making Canada a drop-off port for goods from China and sending those goods to the US, he is wrong,' he wrote. Since Trump became president for a second term last year, his relationship with Canada has been deteriorating. 

After Trump decided to increase tariffs, Canada had gradually started thinking about new trade options. Canadian Prime Minister Carney visited Beijing to take the initiative to put relations with China, which had deteriorated since 2018, on track. During the visit, an agreement was reached to reduce the tariffs that Canada has been imposing on electric vehicles coming from China. In return, China has also reduced tariffs on agricultural products coming from Canada. 

Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said that China and Canada have reached an understanding on many issues. However, he said that there are no plans for a free trade agreement. 

Trump's idea of ​​​​annexing Greenland to the US has caused a crisis in the NATO alliance, and one country after another is distancing itself from the US. This week, Trump said at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, that "Canada has survived because of America."

In response, Carney said, "The world does not have to be tied to authoritarian tendencies, Canada is an example of this. Canada has not survived because of America. We have survived because we are Canadians."

An angry Trump then said that a previous invitation to Carney to sit on the "peace committee" set up to resolve the Gaza crisis had been rescinded. Trump has repeatedly undermined Canada's sovereignty. He recently called for Canada to become the 51st state of the United States. Just last week, he posted a new AI-generated map of the United States on social media, showing the US flags on Canada, Venezuela, Greenland and Cuba. 

On Saturday, Trump once again showed his aggressive nature. He called Carney “Governor Carney.” He had previously addressed former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the same way. 

Daniel Wieland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, says Trump’s contemptuous tendencies remain. “In the early days, Trump seemed to show Carney some respect compared to Trudeau. But now, after Carney’s visit to China and his excellent speech at Davos, Trump is irritated. He has returned to his usual character and is starting to abuse like before,” he said.

Carney has emerged as a leader who can counter the Trump-led America. Before Trump in Davos, he had said, “The middle powers need to come together. Because if you don’t sit at the table, you’re on the menu.” He had spoken about the pressure from the big powers. His speech has been widely praised. 

But Trump has been irked by Carney. He wrote on social media on Saturday, “China will eat Canada alive. Consume it completely. Destroy their businesses, their society, and their lives.” In another post, he wrote, “The last thing the world wants is for China to take Canada. But it’s not going to happen. There’s no way around it.”

There have been no talks between the two sides since the US raised tariffs, affecting the Canadian economy. However, the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement has largely protected Canada. The agreement includes provisions such as the US not being able to easily increase tariffs unilaterally and that Canada can complain if they are increased unfairly. The agreement is due to be reviewed this year. 

Canada has not had good relations with China in the past. Canada also supported Trump's trade war with China during his first term. In 2019, Canada imposed a 100 percent tariff on electric vehicles from China. Similarly, a 25 percent tariff was imposed on steel and aluminum. China responded by imposing a 25 percent tariff on canola oil, pork, and seafood from Canada. 

However, in his second term, Trump also increased tariffs on neighboring Canada. After this, Canada began to seek its interests outside the US. In return, Prime Minister Carney signed a new agreement during a visit to Beijing earlier this month. The agreement aims to export about 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles to Canada and import canola oil and other agricultural products from Canada.