Treasury secretary insists US will impose full tariffs on Canada if Ottawa finalizes trade deal with China

The United States will impose tariffs of 100 percent on Canadian imports if Ottawa finalizes a new trade deal with China. The information was released Sunday by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, amplifying a similar threat by 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 and picked up by AFP.

When Bessent was asked by This Week host Jonathan Karl to clarify whether the United States would make good on Trump's threat made Saturday to impose 100 percent tariffs on Canadian imports, the Treasury chief replied, "There's possibility of 100-percent tariffs if they do a free trade deal"

He added that new tariffs would be imposed "if they go further, if we see that the Canadians are allowing the Chinese to dump goods."

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 reached a "new strategic partnership" and a preliminary trade agreement.

Under the agreement, China is expected to reduce tariffs on canola imports from Canada on March 1 to around 15%, down from 84% currently.

China will also allow visa-free entry for Canadian visitors. In turn, Canada will import 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) under new preferential tariffs of 6.1%.