Trump Canada Tariffs News: US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian imports, marking a significant escalation in the widening trade offensive. The measure will take effect on August 1 and, according to a letter released on Trump’s social media platform, could increase further if Ottawa retaliates.
In the letter addressed to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump underscored that the tariff hike was a unilateral decision and warned of future increases.
The move comes amid a broader expansion of US trade barriers. Trump has recently imposed tariffs on several countries, including allies such as Japan and South Korea, and introduced a 50 per cent duty on copper.
Speaking to NBC News, Trump suggested additional blanket tariffs of 15 to 20 per cent would soon apply to most other trading partners. “Not everybody has to get a letter. You know that. We’re just setting our tariffs,” he said. “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.”
While multiple countries have received tariff letters this week, Canada — America’s second largest trading partner after Mexico — has become something of a foil to Trump. It has imposed retaliatory tariffs on US goods and pushed back on the President’s taunts of making Canada the 51st state.
Carney was elected prime minister in April on the argument that Canadians should keep their “elbows up.” He has responded by distancing Canada from its intertwined relationship with the US, seeking to strengthen its links with the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Hours before Trump’s letter, Carney posted on X a picture of himself with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying, “In the face of global trade challenges, the world is turning to reliable economic partners like Canada.”
In the face of global trade challenges, the world is turning to reliable economic partners like Canada. pic.twitter.com/KlsXJdhCSk
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) July 10, 2025
Trump has sent a series of tariff letters to several countries, including a Wednesday note that put a 50 per cent tariff on Brazil for the ongoing trial of its former president Jair Bolsonaro, for trying to stay in office after his 2022 election loss.
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In June, Trump said he was suspending trade talks with Canada over its plans to continue its digital services tax, which would hit US technology companies. A few days later, talks resumed when Carney rescinded the tax.
(With inputs from AP and Reuters)
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