“That’s OK. That’s what he should be doing. It’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do that,” Trump said, when asked about the agreement announced earlier in the day.

The remarks not only contrast with earlier comments from US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer but also mark a departure from previous US policy that pushed Ottawa to align with Washington’s 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese EVs.

Asked about Ottawa’s decision to allow up to ‍49,000 Chinese EVs into Canada at a preferential rate of 6.1 per cent and how it may affect trilateral trade negotiations with the US and Mexico, Greer ‌said the decision was “problematic” and that Canada may come to regret it “in the long run”.

“There’s ⁠a reason why we don’t sell a lot of Chinese cars in the United States . It’s because we have tariffs to protect American auto workers and Americans from those vehicles,” he said on CNBC.