Trump threatens 100% tariffs on Canada
On January 24, U.S. President Trump threatened Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau on his social media platform "Truth Social," claiming that if Canada reaches a trade agreement with China, he would impose 100% tariffs on all Canadian goods.
Trump's sudden threat to impose 100% tariffs on Canadian goods into the U.S. was directly due to Canada's trade agreement with China and its public statement that China is "more predictable," which marked a dramatic reversal from his support for Sino-Canadian cooperation a week earlier.
The deeper motive behind Trump's change of heart lies in the dispute over Greenland and the deterioration of U.S.-Canada relations.
Trump has long sought control over Greenland (claiming it is crucial to U.S. national security), but this was rejected by Denmark and the Greenlandic self-governing government. On January 17, he threatened to impose additional tariffs on European countries that hindered the U.S. from acquiring the island. Although on January 21, he announced a suspension of tariffs on eight EU countries, stating that an agreement had been reached with NATO on a "cooperation framework" regarding Greenland, this move was interpreted as a "trade strategy of trading the island for tariff exemptions." Canada became a target for retaliation due to its opposition to the U.S. deploying the "Gold Dome" missile system in Greenland.
Recently, high-ranking U.S. officials have been pressuring Canada continuously.
Commerce Secretary Rutenberg criticized Trudeau's policy toward China as "political noise" at the Davos Forum and warned that Canada would face retaliation when revising the USMCA in the summer of 2026;
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bassett promoted the idea of Alberta "seceding from Canada," which the Canadian side viewed as a separatist threat. These negative sentiments may also be factors contributing to Trump's abrupt shift against Canada.
It has been disclosed that Trump's tariff threats were driven by Commerce Secretary Rutenberg and others, but Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Rubio advocated for diplomatic negotiations and opposed extreme schemes such as seizing Greenland. The White House has not completely ruled out the option of imposing taxes on Canada, only stating that "it depends on the president's final decision."
Canada is forced to balance its relations with China and the U.S.
Despite the huge annual trade volume between Canada and the U.S., Canada still chose to expand access to the Chinese market, reflecting the pragmatic choice of a middle power in the hegemonic struggle. The Canadian government has not yet responded to the new tariff threats, and subsequent developments will depend on whether the U.S. implements the sanctions.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1855230456485952/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.