Trump Announces 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump has said the US will impose a 35% tariff on imports from Canada next month and threatened to impose blanket tariffs of 15% or 20% on most other trade partners.

In a letter released on his social media platform, Trump told Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, the new rate would go into effect on 1 August and would increase if Canada retaliated.

Carney said on X his government would continue to defend Canadian workers and businesses in their negotiations with the US as they worked toward that deadline.

Canada and the US are locked in trade negotiations in the hopes of reaching a deal, but the latest threat seemed to put that date in jeopardy.

It was the latest of more than 20 such letters issued by Trump since Monday, as he continues to pursue his trade war threats against dozens of economies.

However, Trump’s new tariffs could drop to zero if the administration loses its appeal this month, after a court ruled in May he overstepped his authority by declaring an emergency without cause.

Canada and Mexico are both trying to find ways to satisfy Trump so that the free trade deal uniting the three countries – known as the USMCA – can be put back on track.

In an interview with NBC News published on Thursday, Trump said other trading partners that had not yet received such letters could face blanket tariffs.

“Not everybody has to get a letter. You know that. We’re just setting our tariffs,” Trump said in the interview.

“We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20% or 15%. We’ll work that out now,” Trump was quoted as saying by the network.