Former Trump ambassador accuses China of meddling in Canada trade deal

Former United States Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands suggested Monday that China could have had a role in tanking a trade deal between the U.S. and Canada, highlighting Prime Minister Mark Carney's relationship with the country.

The Trump administration imposed 50% tariffs on Canadian goods ranging from alcohol to hockey skates last week after Ottawa failed to sign off on a trade deal. Canada immediately retaliated, with Carney suspending trade negotiations with the U.S. and ordering retaliatory tariffs against American-made products.

Sands speculated that China could have been the force behind the deal's collapse in order to put more pressure on the American economy ahead of a critical moment for the country.

"Who knows if China is pressing Mark Carney to, you know, kind of stress the U.S. economy before the midterms," Sands said on the "Just The News, No Noise" TV show. "Let's not forget, Mark Carney has had a lot of China relationships. Whether it's China economic cooperation, I think he is closer to China than he is to the U.S."

Sands claimed that Canada needs to have a trade deal with the U.S. and that Carney's own "agenda" could lead to serious economic trouble for the American ally.

"Mark Carney is not a friend of the American people, but he's also not a friend of the Canadian people," she said. "He has his own agenda, and it's going to lead to economic crisis for Canada. They need to trade with the U.S. because a lot of their goods go to the United States, where only about 5% of our goods come from Canada."

The former ambassador also said she believes that Canada is pivoting to new relationships with China and Europe instead of the United States. 

"They're attempting to really have a close relationship with China," Sands said of Canada. "They've allowed the Chinese electric cars to come into Canada, and making cars and trucks a big part of their economy. So they're destroying their own economy. I think that there is a hope at the top, at Mark Carney and his leadership, to have close relationships with China and perhaps try to build their economy with them. But we know what China does. They're not going to build up Canada."

The collapse of the trade deal between two once-close North American partners occurred last week, just days after the Trump administration delayed the tariffs in order to finalize the agreement. The reason for the collapse was not clear.