U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Canada if it follows through in finalizing a trade deal with China.
“The last thing the World needs is to have China take over Canada. It’s NOT going to happen, or even come close to happening! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump said in a 24 January social media post.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a trade agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping in early January. The agreement came nearly a year after Canada imposed a 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles and a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum products. China then responded with an additional 25 percent tariff on various Canadian goods in March 2025, including seafood exports like halibut, crab, lobster, clams, and shrimp.
The new trade agreement is set to remove that additional 25 percent Chinese tariff on seafood exports beginning 1 March 2026 while allowing tens of thousands of Chinese electric vehicles to be sold in Canadian markets with a tariff rate of just 6.1 percent, according to the CBC.
“Leaders committed to strengthening economic and trade partnership between China and Canada and welcomed progress in the negotiations to resolve trade issues,” a joint statement released by the two nations said. “The two sides committed to expanding bilateral trade, strengthening two-way investment, and deepening cooperation in diverse sectors of mutual interest.”
The seafood sector has largely praised the deal, which is expected to benefit Canada’s seafood exports.
“We welcome the cautiously positive signals it sends for our seafood sector,” Kent Smith, the minister for fisheries and aquaculture for Nova Scotia, told SeafoodSource. “For Nova Scotia’s seafood sector, China has long been a critical trading partner, and renewed cooperation could help unlock new export opportunities and strengthen the livelihoods of the workers and communities who depend on this sector. Our sector’s success depends on stability, transparency, diversification, and fair market access.”
However, stability may not be in the cards as the trade deal announcement was met with a barrage of posts from Trump criticizing and belittling Canada for securing the trade deal with China.
“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!” Trump said in a 25 January post on his social media platform Truth Social.
Trump further threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on goods from Canada if the trade deal goes through.
"If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the U.S.A.” Trump said. “Canada is systematically destroying itself. The China deal is a disaster for them. Will go down as one of the worst deals, of any kind, in history. All their businesses are moving to the USA. I want to see Canada SURVIVE AND THRIVE!”
Trump’s latest threats come as the U.S., Canada, and Mexico are set to begin negotiations on the U.S., Mexico, and Canada Agreement (USMCA), a trade framework established during Trump’s first term as president. The USMCA has been an important tool for both U.S. and Canadian seafood harvesters and producers, allowing seafood caught and produced in either nation to traverse their shared border tariff-free.
Carney suggested that Trump’s barrage of posts over the weekend was likely an attempt to frame the narrative ahead of a USMCA review that will take place later this year.
"We are entering soon a negotiation, a review, formally, of the USMCA ... it will be a robust review, is the expectation," Carney told reporters 26 January, according to Reuters. "[Trump] is a strong negotiator, and I think some of these comments and positioning should be viewed in the broader context of that."
