World3 min(s) read
Published 15:09 18 Mar 2026 GMT
Canada gets ultimate revenge on Trump amid tariffs war
Canada has taken revenge against the USA in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs, in a roundabout way.
For those who live in countries that use them, that’s actually a really good pun.
Canada exacts revenge on Trump for tariffs
If you think back a while - it feels like ages ago - Donald Trump announced his big economic plan was to place tariffs on all goods coming from other countries into the USA.
Of course, not everyone agreed with this plan, especially those who explained that the tariffs are effectively paid by US consumers and not the companies in countries that do the importing.
However, Trump did manage to get a lot of people back on side by promising $2,000 payouts to most American citizens, although that has yet to materialize.
The tariffs have become a bit of a constant theme for Trump, given that he’s threatened most countries with them, over Iran, over Greenland, over just about anything.
Now, Canada has hit back, but in a pretty clever way - by opening the door to loads of trade with another country.
They’ve put in place a way for Chinese electric car makers to start importing in vast numbers, meaning that they could undercut the US market.
Donald won’t be happy with that.
The Canadian government is looking to open up to China
The government in Canada is fast-tracking a deal that could see Chinese automakers like BYD get their cars into dealerships, with those low-cost EVs potentially hitting the market later this year.
This move comes as Trump continues to ramp up the rhetoric around his tariffs, even after the Supreme Court squashed his latest round of global duties.
Under this new deal, Canada would drop the 100 percent tariff on Chinese-made vehicles, replacing with a 49,000 car cap and a much lower 6.1 percent tariff.
Previously, it had been all but impossible for Chinese companies to get cars into the country.
The news gets more interesting for the USA, too.
Because the neighbors across the 49th Parallel share very similar safety and emissions standards, vehicles from Canada could easily find their way into the USA.
So, there will be an abundance of low-cost Chinese cars sitting just across the border.
Ford CEO Jim Farley has already said that this could be an ‘existential threat’ to the US car industry.
This leaves the USA alone in not allowing Chinese cars to be sold easily.
How will Donald Trump react to this?
It remains to be seen exactly what Trump will do about this, but we do know that he’s currently seeking to renegotiate the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, presumably in his own favor.
It has also been reported that he’s willing to pull the USA out of that agreement if he doesn’t get his way, or could negotiate with each country separately.
One thing is for certain, Canada will try to drive a tough bargain.
Prime Minister Mark Carney told the World Economic Forum in Davos: “American hegemony, in particular, helped provide public goods, open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security and support for frameworks for resolving disputes,
“This bargain no longer works.”
Despite that, he later said that the country had ‘no plans’ to open a full free-trade agreement with China, after Trump threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on Canadian exports should that happen.