Trump says U.S. to impose 35% tariffs on Canada starting August 1

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States would impose a 35 percent tariff on imports from Canada next month and planned to impose blanket tariffs of 15 percent or 20 percent on most other trading partners.

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

In a post on X late on Thursday, Carney said his government will continue to defend Canadian workers and businesses in their negotiations with the U.S. as they work towards that deadline.

The 35 percent tariff is an increase from the current 25 percent rate that Trump had assigned to Canada and is a blow to Carney, who was seeking to agree a trade pact with Washington.

An exclusion for goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade was expected to stay in place, and 10 percent tariffs on energy and fertilizer were also not set to change, though Trump had not made a final decision on those issues, an administration official said.

Trump complained in his letter about what he referred to as the flow of fentanyl from Canada as well as the country's tariff- and non-tariff trade barriers that hurt U.S. dairy farmers and others. He said the trade deficit was a threat to the U.S. economy and national security.

"If Canada works with me to stop the flow of Fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter," Trump wrote.

Canadian officials say a minuscule amount of fentanyl originates from Canada but they have taken measures to strengthen the border.

"Canada has made vital progress to stop the scourge of fentanyl in North America. We are committed to continuing to work with the United States to save lives and protect communities in both our countries," Carney added in his X post late Thursday.

The prime minister said last month that he and Trump had agreed to wrap up a new economic and security deal within 30 days.

Trump has broadened his trade war in recent days, setting new tariffs on a number of countries, including allies Japan and South Korea, along with a 50 percent tariff on copper.

According to an NBC News report, Trump said that blanket tariffs of 15-20 percent will be imposed on most trading partners.

"We're just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it's 20 percent or 15 percent. We'll work that out now," Trump told NBC News in a phone interview.

The Trump administration had previously imposed a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods, but later exempted products covered under the USMCA trade deal.

(With input from Xinhua and Reuters)