US treasury secretary amplifies Trump’s threat to Canada over China dealings
Scott Bessent warns Washington will not allow Canada to become an ‘opening’ for cheap goods from China to pour into the US
The United States will impose 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports should Ottawa finalise a new trade deal with China, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday, amplifying a similar threat from US President Donald Trump a day earlier.
“We can’t let Canada become an opening that the Chinese pour their cheap goods into the US,” Bessent said on ABC’s This Week.
During a visit to Beijing on January 16, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a thaw in bilateral relations with China, saying the two countries had struck a “new strategic partnership” 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 per cent, down from the current 84 per cent.
WATCH: Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Canadian PM Mark Carney
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 per cent.