WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said on Monday any country that does business with Iran will face a tariff rate of 25% on any trade with the US, as Washington weighs a response to the situation in Iran which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years.

“Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America,” Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Tariffs are paid by US importers of goods from those countries. Iran, a member of the OPEC oil producing group, has been heavily sanctioned by Washington for years. It exports much of its oil to China, with Turkey, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and India among its other top trading partners.

“This Order is final and conclusive,” Mr. Trump said without providing any further detail.

There was no official documentation from the White House of the policy on its website, nor information about the legal authority Mr. Trump would use to impose the tariffs, or whether they would be aimed at all of Iran’s trading partners. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

The Chinese embassy in Washington criticized Mr. Trump’s approach, saying China will take “all necessary measures” to safeguard its interests and opposed “any illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction.”

“China’s position against the indiscriminate imposition of tariffs is consistent and clear. Tariff wars and trade wars have no winners, and coercion and pressure cannot solve problems,” a spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in Washington said on X.

Japan and South Korea, which agreed on trade deals with the US last year, said on Tuesday they are closely monitoring the development.

“We … plan to take any necessary measures once the specific actions of the US government become clear,” South Korea’s trade ministry said in a statement.

Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki told reporters that Tokyo will “carefully examine the specific content of any measures as they become clear, as well as their potential impact on Japan, and will respond appropriately.”

Iran, which had a 12-day war with US ally Israel last year and whose nuclear facilities the US military bombed in June, is seeing its biggest anti-government demonstrations in years.

Mr. Trump has said the US may meet Iranian officials and that he was in contact with Iran’s opposition, while piling pressure on its leaders, including threatening military action.

Tehran said on Monday it was keeping communication channels with Washington open as Mr. Trump considered how to respond to the situation in Iran, which has posed one of the gravest tests of clerical rule in the country since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Demonstrations evolved from complaints about dire economic hardships to defiant calls for the fall of the deeply entrenched clerical establishment. US-based rights group HRANA said it had verified the deaths of 599 people – 510 protesters and 89 security personnel – since the protests began on December 28.

While air strikes were one of many alternatives open to Mr. Trump, “diplomacy is always the first option for the president,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday.

During the course of his second term in office, Mr. Trump has often threatened and imposed tariffs on other countries over their ties with US adversaries and over trade policies that he has described as unfair to Washington.

Mr. Trump’s trade policy is under legal pressure as the US Supreme Court is considering striking down a broad swathe of Mr. Trump’s existing tariffs.

Iran exported products to 147 trading partners in 2022, according to World Bank’s most recent data. — Reuters

OTTAWA — Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney departs for China on Tuesday, where he will discuss trade and international security at a time when Canada faces uncertain relations with the US due to a trade war and annexation threats from President Donald J. Trump.

It is the first visit to Beijing by a Canadian prime minister since 2017 and could mark a critical shift in ties between the two countries as Canada seeks new trade and security partnerships.

Mr. Carney agreed to visit China last October when he and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in South Korea. It was an encounter that offered no breakthroughs but suggested potential for deeper ties after a fractious relationship under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which had soured after Canada arrested the chief financial officer of Chinese firm Huawei in 2018.

This time, experts expect some deals — or at least promises of future deals — to be struck. Senior Canadian officials said Mr. Carney would sign a number of memoranda that are still under discussion. 

Greg MacEachern, a former senior Liberal ministerial adviser, said he expected the trip would yield results beyond mere symbolism.

“When the Prime Minister is invited to China, it is not for window dressing,” he said, adding the trip would be monitored in Washington.

“There’s a political risk this could upset President Trump, but Prime Minister Carney clearly wants to send the message that Canada is open for business. And the Canadian government has made the calculation that it’s worth it.” 

CRUDE, CANOLA IN FOCUS
Deals could include more exports of Canadian crude to China, according to a source informed of the discussions.

Canada exports some 90% of its oil to the United States but a planned increase in US oil imports from Venezuela could decrease US demand for Canadian crude. 

Senior Canadian officials said they expected progress but not the definitive elimination of Chinese tariffs on Canadian canola exports during the visit.

China looks forward to deepening mutual trust with Canada during the Jan. 14-17 visit, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

“Both Canada and China want to signal their good intentions, so they each need to give away something,” said Lynette Ong, a professor of Chinese politics at the University of Toronto.

China announced preliminary anti-dumping duties on Canadian canola imports in August, escalating a year-long trade dispute that began with Ottawa’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports a year earlier. The tariffs have virtually eliminated all canola exports to China, which was previously the biggest export market for Canadian canola.

Ms. Ong said the EV tariff was introduced during the administration of former US President Joseph R. Biden and the recent rupture in Canada’s relationship with the US made keeping it unnecessary, because alignment with Washington had become less of a priority for Ottawa. China is Canada’s second-biggest trading partner after the US.

Doug Ford, premier of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province and auto hub, urged Mr. Carney not to “back down,” saying the EV tariffs should only be lifted if China opens a manufacturing facility in Ontario.

Colin Hornby, head of the Manitoba farm group Keystone Agricultural Producers, said he did not expect an agreement to eliminate the canola tariffs during the trip but was optimistic something could happen in the coming weeks or months. 

CONCERNS ABOUT NATIONAL SECURITY, HUMAN RIGHTS
Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, warned more cooperation with China in sectors like artificial intelligence and critical minerals could jeopardize Canadian security, however.

“There are clear red lines not to be crossed,” she said.

Canada has previously voiced concerns about human rights violations in China, including the jailing of pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, the secret execution of four Canadians in China last year and past interference in Canadian elections.

Cheuk Kwan, co-chair of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China, said he hoped Canada would “not fall into the trap of appeasing China just to secure bilateral trade agreements.”

Two Canadian members of Parliament said on Monday they were ending a trip to democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, early this week ahead of Mr. Carney’s visit to China to avoid confusion with Canada’s foreign policy.

China’s plans to welcome Mr. Carney at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, arguably the country’s grandest government building, may be part of a “charm offensive,” said Joseph Torigian, an expert in Chinese politics at American University.

Mr. Torigian suggested China might be looking to burnish its global reputation after the US seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month.

“The Chinese might make a case during bilateral meetings with Canada about how unreliable the US is as a partner and how dangerous they are,” Mr. Torigian said. “Whereas China is willing to help Canada expand its trade relationships outside of its hemisphere if the Canadians are willing to play ball.” — Reuters