Trump slaps 35% tariff on Canadian imports

US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump ramped up his tariff assault on Canada on Thursday, saying the US would impose a 35% tariff on imports next month and planned to impose blanket tariffs of 15% or 20% on most other trading partners.

- JEFF MASON & ISMAIL SHAKIL

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 US as they work towards that deadline.

The 35% tariff is an increase from the current 25% 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% 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.