Following the trade deal announced last week between Canada and China, concerns are mounting that the agreement will further entangle the U.S.’s northern neighbor in the hostile web of the communist regime without gaining a significant economic advantage.

On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that a preliminary deal had been signed with Xi Jinping’s regime during his visit to Beijing to allow Chinese-made electric vehicles to be sold there, lowering tariffs on the cars from 100% to 6.1%, with an annual cap of 49,000 EVs. In return, China agreed to lower its tariffs on Canadian canola seeds from 84% to 15%.

The impending deal was immediately criticized by Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, the country’s most populous province, who called the agreement “lopsided.” “[This] risks closing the door on Canadian automakers to the American market, our largest export destination, which would hurt our economy and lead to job losses,” he remarked. Others like Derek Holt, an economist at the Bank of Nova Scotia, stated that the deal’s benefits to the Canadian economy would be “modest and concentrated.”

Carney’s office described the trade deal as “the foundation for a new strategic partnership.” Carney further characterized the deal as a step toward bolstering his country’s national security. “The security landscape continues to change,” he said as he left Beijing on Saturday. “We face many threats. You manage those threats through alliances.”

Notably, the deal was struck amid ongoing national security threats that China has posed toward Canada. As observed by Kyle Matthews, who serves as executive director of the Montreal Institute for Global Security, “China has interfered in our elections. It has conducted transnational repression against communities on Canadian soil. It arbitrarily detained our citizens as leverage. The Canadian government recognizes that Beijing engages in pervasive economic espionage and cyber operations.”

Meanwhile, the Trump administration sent mixed signals in reaction to the deal. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy remarked that Canada will “look back at this decision and surely regret it to bring Chinese cars into their market.” But President Donald Trump seemed unconcerned with the move. “That’s what he should be doing, and it’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal,” he stated. “If you can get a deal with China, you should do that.”

The comments came during an atmosphere of heightened distrust between Canada and the U.S. Rhetoric from Trump over the last year has rattled the country, as he has suggested that he would consider making Canada America’s 51st state and has yet to negotiate a tariff deal after imposing a 25% duty on Canadian goods last year.

Foreign policy experts like Lt. Col. (Ret.) Bob Maginnis, who serves as Family Research Council’s senior fellow for National Security, say that Canada’s decision to open its market to China will have a number of negative consequences.

“This was a bad decision, but typical of Canada,” he told The Washington Stand. “Canada’s decision to deepen economic ties with China through expanded access for Chinese electric vehicles is not a neutral trade adjustment; it is a strategic choice with long-term security, industrial, and alliance consequences. Framing this move as an ‘alliance’ to manage security threats, as articulated by Mark Carney, is particularly troubling given Beijing’s documented record of economic coercion, technology extraction, and strategic deception,” he noted. “Sean Duffy is correct to warn that Canada may come to regret this decision.”

Maginnis went on to argue that Chinese electric vehicles pose a unique threat to the U.S.

“From a U.S. perspective, the concern is not simply commercial competition. Chinese EV manufacturers operate within a state-directed system that blurs the line between private enterprise and national strategy,” he pointed out. “Vehicles increasingly function as data platforms — collecting location data, user behavior, sensor information, and communications metadata. Allowing large numbers of Chinese-made vehicles into North America creates potential vectors for surveillance, supply-chain leverage, and coercive dependency, particularly in critical minerals, batteries, and software updates. Trust, in this context, is not an abstract moral category; it is a national security prerequisite — and the Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly demonstrated that trust is misplaced.”

“This decision is also likely to harm both Canadian and American interests economically,” Maginnis continued. “It undercuts North American auto manufacturing, weakens investment incentives tied to U.S.-Canada industrial integration, and risks creating a regulatory backdoor through which subsidized Chinese products can indirectly affect the U.S. market. Over time, it could strain the very foundation of continental supply-chain resilience that Washington and Ottawa have spent years trying to rebuild.”

“In short,” he concluded, “this Canadian-Chinese deal reflects a dangerous misreading of Beijing’s intentions. Economic engagement with China does not neutralize security threats; it often embeds them more deeply. The United States should respond with resolve, clarity, and alliance-focused discipline — protecting its interests while giving Canada every opportunity to reconsider a decision that risks undermining both nations’ security and prosperity.”

Asia expert and author Gordon Chang, who serves as a distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, also voiced strong concerns about the trade deal. “Ottawa has effectively allowed China to use Canada as a base of operations against the U.S. for years,” he told TWS. “There’s no point in worrying about Greenland when there is a risk that Canada will make our northern border even less secure than it is now.”

Gordon further contended that Trump should smooth things over with Carney in order to avoid increased national security issues for both countries. “Both Trump and Carney are now making poor decisions. Canada and America are vital to each other’s security. Both leaders have lost sight of what’s important. Canada and the U.S. need to kiss and make up.”

Gordon concluded by underscoring the threat posed by Chinese EVs. “China’s cars, which transmit data back to China, are spies for the Chinese regime,” he emphasized. “The Biden administration, with its important January 2025 rules, essentially banned Chinese EVs from American roads. We should not allow Canadians to drive these vehicles across the border. The Trump administration has preliminarily indicated that these cars will not be allowed on American roads, and that’s the right decision.”