US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would increase tariffs on neighbouring Canada to 35%.
The letter, addressed to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, marks a sharp increase from the 25% tariffs which Trump imposed in March. He said these tariffs were aimed at pressuring Canada to curb fentanyl trafficking – despite limited evidence of significant flows – and to address what he described as unfair trade practices.
“I must mention that the flow of Fentanyl is hardly the only challenge we have with Canada, which has many Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers,” Trump wrote.
These new rates are expected to go into place from August 1.
Canada is the US’s second-largest trading partner after Mexico. It has previously responded to earlier tariffs with retaliatory measures and pushed back against Trump’s repeated jabs, including that Canada could become the 51st US state.
Mexico has also faced 25% tariffs because of fentanyl, yet it has not faced the same public pressure from Trump.
Carney was elected Canadian Prime Minister in April on a platform of assertive foreign policy. Since then, he has sought to distance Canada from the US while seeking to strengthen its tie with the European Union and the UK.
When Carney visited Trump in the White House in May, Trump said there was nothing the Canadian leader could tell him to remove tariffs in place at the time.
“Just the way it is,” Trump said at the time.
Carney indicated he would be willing to be patient in pursuing talks on trade.
“There are much bigger forces involved, the Canadian leader said. “And this will take some time and some discussions.”
Trump has sent a series of tariff letters to 23 countries so far. This includes a 50% tariff threatened on Brazil for the ongoing trial of its former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of trying to overturn his 2022 election loss.
