President Donald Trump just announced a new trade threat. He says the United States will hit imports from Canada with a 35% tariff. This new charge would start on August 1st. The news comes as both countries are trying to reach a new trade deal. They only have a few days left before a key deadline.
This specific threat against Canada is part of a bigger picture. Trump has also said he might put a 15% or 20% tariff on most of the goods coming from other trading partners. He even mentioned that the European Union would soon hear about new import taxes.
Trump shared his latest tariff plan for Canada on Thursday, July 10th. He sent a letter, which he also posted on social media, directly to Prime Minister Mark Carney. This isn’t the first time Canada has faced these kinds of import taxes. The US already has a 25% tariff on some Canadian products. Canada also feels the sting of Trump’s global tariffs on steel, aluminum, and cars.
The letter to Mark Carney was just one of more than twenty such messages Trump sent this week. Other countries like Japan, South Korea, and Sri Lanka also got letters. Trump has promised to start these new tariffs on his trade partners by August 1st.
The US has a general 25% tariff on all Canadian goods. But right now, some items are exempt if they follow the North American Free Trade Agreement. It’s still not clear if this latest 35% tariff will apply to goods covered by the new Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, known as CUSMA.
Beyond the Canada threats, Trump has set other worldwide tariffs. Aluminum imports face a 50% tax, and steel imports are at 25%. All cars and trucks not made in the US also get a 25% tax. He also recently announced a 50% tax on copper imports, set to begin next month.
Canada sells about three-quarters of its goods to the US. It’s a huge car maker and a big supplier of metals. So, these US tariffs really hurt those businesses. Trump’s letter made it clear that this new 35% tariff is separate from the ones already in place for specific industries.
“As you know, there will be no tariffs if Canada or your country’s companies decide to build or make products within the United States,” Trump said. He also tied these tariffs to what he called Canada’s “failure” to stop fentanyl from entering the US. He also pointed to Canada’s tariffs on US dairy farmers and the trade gap between the two countries.
Trump added, “If Canada works with me to stop the flow of fentanyl, we might look at changing this letter. These tariffs could go up or down, depending on how our relationship with your country goes.” The President accused Canada of letting “large numbers of people and fentanyl pour in” to the US.
But data from US Customs and Border Protection tells a different story. Only about 0.2% of all fentanyl seized entering the US comes from the Canadian border. Almost all the rest is found at the US-Mexico border.
Canada has tried to address Trump’s complaints. They announced more money for border security and even named a fentanyl controller earlier this year. Canada has been talking a lot with the US lately to get a new trade and security deal done. At the G7 summit in June, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump said they wanted a new deal within 30 days. That set a deadline for July 21st.
In his letter, Trump threatened to increase tariffs on Canada even more if Canada fights back. Canada has already put tariffs on US goods in response. They also promised to add more if a deal isn’t reached by the deadline.
In late June, Mark Carney removed some tariffs on big US tech companies. This happened after Trump called them a “blatant attack” and threatened to stop trade talks. Carney said those tariffs were dropped as “part of a bigger discussion” about trade between the two countries.