US will have ‘very substantial’ response if Canada enacts trade deal with China: Trump
US President Donald Trump earlier said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney ‘was sorely mistaken’ if ‘thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States.’ PHOTO:AFP
US President Donald Trump on Saturday said the United States would respond in a significant way if Canada proceeds with the trade agreement that it negotiated with China.
“If they do a deal with China, yeah, we’ll do something very substantial,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We don’t want China to take over Canada. And if they make the deal that he’s looking to make, China will take over Canada.”
Trump last week said he would impose a 100 per cent tariffs on Canada if it follows through on a trade deal with China.
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A week ago, US President Donald Trump on warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he will impose a 100 per cent tariff on all goods coming over the border.
Relations between the United States and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a "rupture" in the US-led global order.
During a visit to Beijing last week, Carney hailed a "new strategic partnership" with China that resulted in a "preliminary but landmark trade agreement" to reduce tariffs — but Trump warned of serious consequences should that deal be realised.
If 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 wrote on his Truth Social platform.