<figure id="attachment_3044136" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3044136" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3044136" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/682d044c-scott-bessent-epa-260425.webp" alt="Scott Bessent EPA 260425" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3044136" class="wp-caption-text">US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said 100% tariffs on Canada is a possibility if they make a free trade deal with China. (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
WASHINGTON: The US will impose 100% tariffs on Canadian imports should Ottawa finalise a new trade deal with China, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday, amplifying a similar threat from President Donald Trump a day earlier.
&#8220;We can&#8217;t let Canada become an opening that the Chinese pour their cheap goods into the US,&#8221; Bessent said on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week.&#8221;
During a visit to Beijing on Jan 16, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a thaw in bilateral relations with China, saying the two countries had struck a &#8220;new strategic partnership&#8221; and a preliminary trade deal.
Under the deal, China is expected to reduce tariffs on canola imports from Canada by March 1 to around 15%, down from the current 84%.
China will also allow Canadian visitors to enter the country visa‑free. In turn, Canada will import 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) under new, preferential tariffs of 6.1%.
The deal came amid a US-Canada trade war, with the Trump administration imposing import duties on its northern neighbor.
When Bessent was asked to clarify whether Washington would make good on a threat made by Trump on Saturday to impose tariffs of 100% on Canadian imports, the Treasury chief replied: &#8220;There&#8217;s possibility of 100% tariffs if they do a free trade deal.&#8221;
He added that the new tariffs would be imposed &#8220;if they go further, if we see that the Canadians are allowing the Chinese to dump goods.&#8221;
Trump himself took to his Truth Social platform Sunday to comment on the negotiations between Ottawa and Beijing, writing: &#8220;China is successfully and completely taking over the once Great Country of Canada. So sad to see it happen.&#8221;
&#8220;I only hope they leave Ice Hockey alone!&#8221; he added, in reference to Canada&#8217;s national sport.

MatchPoint Times

US to slap full tariffs on Canada if it seals China trade deal

During a visit to Beijing on Jan 16, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a ‘new strategic partnership’ and a preliminary trade deal with China.

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