Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government has no plans to pursue a free trade agreement with China.
His comments come amid a trade spat with President Donald Trump, who threatened a 100% trade spike against Canada if it moves forward with an ongoing trade deal with Beijing. Carney said the trade deal only relates to lowering tariffs.
“We have no intention of doing that with China or any other non-market economy,” Carney said of a wider trade agreement. “What we have done with China is to rectify some issues that developed in the last couple of years.”
Trump appeared unconvinced over the weekend, however, claiming on social media that China is “taking over” America’s neighbor.
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“China is successfully and completely taking over the once Great Country of Canada. So sad to see it happen. I only hope they leave Ice Hockey alone,” Trump wrote Sunday on his Truth Social platform.
Nevertheless, Carney has emphasized that there are already trade agreements with the U.S. and Mexico that prevent any of the three from entering into a trade agreement with a non-market economy without prior notification.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blasted Carney’s openness toward China during an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday. He argued Carney is helping the Chinese “pour their cheap goods into the U.S.”
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“We have a (United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement), but based off – based on that, which is going to be renegotiated this summer, and I’m not sure what Prime Minister Carney is doing here, other than trying to virtue-signal to his globalist friends at Davos,” Bessent said.
Carney has recently played ring leader for Western allies who feel threatened by Trump’s administration. He issued a rallying cry for “middle powers” during his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week.
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“Middle powers must act together because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu,” he said, with Trump in the crowd.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
