His comments come in response to U.S. President Donald Trump saying Canadian goods would be subject to 100 percent tariffs if Canada ’makes a deal with China.’
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada does not intend to pursue a free trade agreement with China, after U.S. President Donald Trump said Canadian goods would be hit with 100 percent U.S. tariffs if Canada “makes a deal with China.”
Carney told reporters ahead of a Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa on Jan. 25 that Canada has commitments under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) “not to pursue free trade agreements with non–market economies without prior notification.”
“We have no intention of doing that with China or any other non–market economy,” Carney said. “What we’ve done with China is to rectify some issues that developed in the last couple of years.”
He used the expression “back to the future” to describe Canada’s agreements with China on electric vehicles, agriculture, fish products, and other food products, noting that the difference between now and the past is that there are now “additional protections,” such as a cap on Chinese EVs.
“It’s entirely consistent with [USMCA], with our obligations, which we very much respect under [USMCA], and will continue to work that way,” Carney added.
Carney met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing during his trip to China from Jan. 13 to Jan. 17, where he signed a series of agreements that include cutting tariffs on Chinese EV imports from 100 percent to 6.1 percent for the first 49,000 vehicles, in exchange for China cutting tariffs on Canadian canola from 85 percent to 15 percent until at least the end of the year.
While he was in China, Carney said Ottawa was in a “strategic partnership” with Beijing and that the relationship had entered a “new era.” He also said progress made in the “partnership” with China “sets us up well for the new world order.”
Trump had initially shrugged off Carney’s new agreement with China, telling reporters on Jan. 16 that, “It’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If he can get a deal with China, he should do that.” However, his cabinet expressed concern about Canada’s agreements with China, with U.S. Transport Secretary Sean Duffy saying Canada “will live to regret the day they let the Chinese Communist Party flood the market with their EVs.”
By Olivia Gomm
