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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney clarified this Sunday that his country will not sign a free trade agreement with China following Trump's recent threats.
“Under the T-MEC, we are committed to not seeking free trade agreements with non-market economies without prior notification. We have no intention of doing so with China or any other economy that is not a market economy,” the premier said this Sunday according to Efe, referring to the North American trade agreement, which he shares with Mexico and the U.S.
Carney said that the agreements reached with China following his recent visit to Beijing focus on "addressing some issues that have arisen in the past couple of years" within the bilateral relationship.
"This is entirely consistent with the T-MEC agreement, with our obligations, which we respect," he said
On Saturday, Trump warned that he will impose a 100% tariff on Canadian exports if Carney's government continues to strengthen ties with China.
Trump's threat comes just days after Carney described relations with China as "more predictable" than those Canada maintains with the United States, a statement that caused discomfort in Washington.
The U.S. president deemed it "unacceptable" for a historical ally to seek to strengthen ties with a "strategic rival."
During their visit to the Great Hall of the People, Carney and Xi advocated for a "strategic relationship adapted to the current context," marked by Canada's intention to diversify its trade partners in response to the pressures of Trump's second term.
The meeting, the first of a Canadian leader in China since 2017, symbolizes Ottawa's attempt to rebuild fractured ties since the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018.
In Washington, sources from the White House indicated that the president views Carney's approach to Beijing as “a direct threat to North America's economic security.”
In this regard, the Trump administration would be reviewing possible tariff measures that would affect Canadian steel, aluminum, and agricultural products, key sectors of the bilateral economy.
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