Former U.S. President Donald Trump has told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that the U.S. will start charging a 35% tax on goods from Canada starting August 1. He made this official in a letter sent on Thursday, July 10. Canada now joins other countries affected by Trump’s recent trade decisions.
This news comes while Canada and the U.S. were still talking about trade and trying to settle their issues before July 21. With this new tariff threat, the discussions may now take longer. Both Canada and Mexico are still working together to protect the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the trade deal that replaced NAFTA in 2020.
Prime Minister Carney shared on X (formerly Twitter) that his government will keep standing up for Canadian workers and businesses. He said they’re now working towards the new August 1 deadline, hoping to reach a fair agreement before then.
Since Monday, July 7, Trump has sent out more than 20 letters to foreign governments. In these letters, he either announced new tariffs or warned them that penalties might be coming. Canada and Mexico were among the first affected. Earlier, the U.S. had placed a 25% tariff on goods from both countries. However, Canada’s energy products were taxed at a lower rate, and some items were later excluded under USMCA.
Trump has often said that Canada and Mexico are not doing enough to stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking into the U.S. Still, despite these issues, Trump and Carney have managed to keep a good relationship. They met in Washington on May 6 and again in Canada during the G7 summit in June. There, other world leaders asked Trump to soften his trade decisions.
Recently, Canada agreed to reduce taxes on American tech companies. This move was seen as a friendly step to ease tension between both sides, especially after earlier threats from the U.S. caused talks to stall.
In an interview with NBC, Trump said more countries could soon face similar taxes. He mentioned that from August 1, tariffs between 15% and 20% could be placed on countries that haven’t yet received a formal warning letter. He also said a letter to the European Union, America’s biggest trading partner, would be sent very soon.
Trump also warned Brazil that tariffs could go as high as 50% unless they reach a deal with the U.S. Brazil’s President Lula da Silva said he’s ready to talk, but also added that his country may take steps in return if needed. Trump’s letter to Lula also included complaints about how Brazil treated former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is close to Trump.
Many people around the world are now worried that Trump’s new wave of tariff threats might start another big trade fight. The future of the USMCA is now uncertain, and global trade experts are watching closely to see what happens next.
