Trump shifts tone, threatens Carney with tariffs over China deal

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened Canada with 100 per cent tariffs following Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new trade deal with China.

Trump took to social media Saturday morning to put Carney on blast about Canada’s latest trade deal with China, referring to the prime minister as “Governor Carney” – the same level of disrespect he showed Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau.

Trump says he’ll hit Canada with 100 per cent tariffs on all Canadian products entering the States if a deal with China is made.

But experts tell CHCH News this latest aggression from Trump could just boost the “Buy Canadian” movement in this country.

“If we needed more of an example to demonstrate Prime Minister Carney’s point that he was making in the speech in Davos that essentially the international order that we used to think functioned based on rules and impartiality, that it’s really just an excuse for American domination. Well, really, Trump is just a nice illustration of that with this threat of 100 per cent tariffs,” said Stefan Dolgert, political science professor from Brock University.

“While there were some really important and I think realistic messages in the prime minister’s speech in Davos, clearly it has precipitated a reaction from the U.S.,” said Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Later Saturday, Trump followed up his original statement with another Truth Social post saying, “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!”

In response to the U.S. president’s comments, Canadian Minister of Internal Trade Dominic LeBlanc took to social media to clarify the move between Carney and China.

Leblanc’s statement points out that “there is no pursuit of a free trade deal with China. What was achieved was resolution on several important tariff issues.”

WATCH MORE: ‘Canada thrives because we are Canadian’: Carney pushes back on Trump’s remarks

Kelly says this latest attack from Trump will just enhance the Buy Canadian movement which he says is already going strong.

“People are certainly pro Canada. The rhetoric coming out of the United States right now, especially over the course of the weekend, I think might push more Canadians to dig deep and to support local businesses, manufactures and retailers as much as they possibly can,” said Kelly.

Dolgert doesn’t expect Trump to follow through on his latest threats.

“The good news is that we know that Trump is wildly inconsistent and that he frequently backs down. This is just what happened with Greenland, of course – that there were these threats of U.S. invasion. And when you show a little bit of force, Trump, he will back off. So I think it is very possible that this is just more bluster. But once again, here we are on the crazy train,” said Dolgert.

The threat from Trump comes a week after the Canadian trade deal with China was first announced – a shift in tone from Trump’s initial reaction when he was seemingly unbothered by the deal.

“Well, that’s okay. That’s what he should be doing. It’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China you should do that,” said Trump.

At this point, it’s not clear if Trump’s new tariffs will apply to Canadian goods that are shipped to the U.S. without tariffs under an existing free-trade agreement.

Earlier this month, Carney pledged to eliminate Canada’s 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles in return for reduced tariffs on Canadian agricultural exports, including lobster, crab and canola.

Trump’s latest threats follow Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum, which earned a standing ovation after he sharply criticized the president’s foreign policies and use of tariffs as a weapon.

WATCH MORE: Carney government reaches ‘landmark’ trade deal with China; Trump doesn’t mind