U.S. President Donald Trump and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney speak throughout a household photograph on the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025.
Amber Bracken | Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday raised tariffs on Canadian imports to 35%, efficient Aug. 1, complaining that Ottawa had retaliated with duties towards Washington.
“As a substitute of working with the US, Canada retaliated with its personal Tariffs,” Trump mentioned to Mark Carney, prime minister of Canada, in a letter posted on Fact Social.
He attributed fentanyl as a motive for that charge within the letter: “If Canada works with me to cease the move of Fentanyl, we’ll, maybe, think about an adjustment to this letter.”
Responding to Trump’s announcement, Carney mentioned in a publish on X that “Canada has made important progress to cease the scourge of fentanyl in North America. We’re dedicated to persevering with to work with the US to save lots of lives and defend communities in each our international locations.”
“The Canadian authorities has steadfastly defended our staff and companies. We are going to proceed to take action as we work in the direction of the revised deadline of August 1.”
The 35% tariffs might be separate from all sectoral tariffs, Trump mentioned, warning that the responsibility may be elevated, if Canada retaliated. Canada is topic to Trump’s 50% tariffs on metal and aluminum imports, 25% tariffs on autos, and faces a 50% levy on copper shipments beginning Aug. 1.
Different imports from Canada into the U.S. at present entice a 25% levy that Trump imposed earlier this yr over the nation’s alleged position within the move of fentanyl, with exemptions for these in compliance with the United States-Mexico-Canada Settlement. Vitality imports from Canada are topic to a decrease 10% levy.
“If for any motive you determine to boost your Tariffs, then, regardless of the quantity you select to boost them by, might be added onto the 35% that we cost,” Trump mentioned Thursday. “Good transshipped to evade this greater tariff might be topic to that greater tariff.”
Trump indicated that the tariff charges in future will rely upon how Washington’s relationship with Ottawa pans out, whereas mentioning that his nation confronted challenges from Canada that went past fentanyl.
“[Canada] has many Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Insurance policies and Commerce Boundaries, which trigger unsustainable Commerce Deficits towards the US … The Commerce Deficit is a serious risk to our Financial system and, certainly, our Nationwide Safety!”
Individually, Trump instructed NBC information Thursday that he intends to impose blanket tariffs of 15% or 20% on most commerce companions, up from the present 10%.
Thursday’s letter got here after the 2 international locations agreed to resume the commerce talks on June 29 and to work on hammering out a deal by July 21, in accordance with an announcement from the Division of Finance Canada.
Trump had threatened to finish all commerce discussions with Canada, considered one of its largest buying and selling companions, over Ottawa’s “digital companies tax” on American corporations. Canada withdrew that tax on June 29 with a purpose to restart commerce talks with Washington.
In response to Trump’s duties, Ottawa had additionally imposed 25% tariffs on non-USMCA grievance autos from the U.S. and an inventory of American exports together with metal, aluminum, computer systems, apparels and meals earlier this yr. The countermeasures, Canada mentioned in March, would keep “till the U.S. eliminates its tariffs towards Canadian metal and aluminum merchandise.”
U.S. complete items commerce with Canada was $761.8 billion in 2024, with Washington’s deficit standing at $62 billion final yr, in accordance with U.S. Census information. Within the first 5 months this yr, the U.S. deficit in items commerce with Canada rose 9.8% yr on yr to $25.6 billion.
