Trump puts 35% tariff on Canada, eyes 15% to 20% rate for others

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump ramped up his tariff assault on Canada on July 10, saying Washington would impose a 35 per cent tariff on imports in August, and planned to impose blanket tariffs of 15 per cent or 20 per cent on most other trade partners.

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

In a post on X late on July 10, Mr 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 per cent tariff is an increase from the current 25 per cent that Mr Trump had assigned to Canada and is a blow to Mr Carney, who was seeking to agree on a trade pact with Washington.

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

Mr 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 US dairy farmers and others.

He said the trade deficit was a threat to the US economy and national security.

“If Canada works with me to stop the flow of Fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter,” Mr 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,” Mr Carney added in his X post late on July 10.

The Prime Minister said in June that he and Mr Trump had agreed to wrap up a new economic and security deal within 30 days.

EU’s tariff worry

Mr 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 per cent tariff on copper

.

His latest salvo rattled investors anew, with US and European stock futures dipping in Asia on July 11 as markets nervously awaited word on what tariff rate Mr Trump would assign the European Union (EU) later on July 11.

The potential escalation between the EU and the US is a big deal for financial markets, said Mr Joseph Capurso, head of international economics at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

“If you get something similar to (the US-China trade war in April), that’s going to be very destabilising.”

In an interview with NBC News published on July 10, Mr Trump said US trading partners that had not yet received any letters would likely face blanket tariffs.

“Not everybody has to get a letter. You know that. We’re just setting our tariffs,” Mr Trump said in the interview.

“We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20 per cent or 15 per cent. We’ll work that out now,” Mr Trump was quoted as saying by the network.

Myanmar’s ruling military general has asked Mr Trump to reduce the 40 per cent tariff rate on his country’s exports to the US to 10 per cent to 20 per cent and is ready to send a negotiation team to Washington if needed, state media reported on July 11.

The President of the Philippines, Mr Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, will meet Mr Trump in Washington in July for the first time and will discuss its 20 per cent tariff, the country’s Foreign Minister said.

Canada is the second-largest trading partner of the US, after Mexico, and the largest buyer of US exports. It bought US$349.4 billion (S$447 billion) of US goods in 2024 and exported US$412.7 billion to the US, according to US Census Bureau data.

Mr Carney, who led his Liberal Party to a comeback election victory earlier in 2025 with a pledge to tackle trade challenges with the US, had been aiming to negotiate a trade deal with its key trading partner by July 21.

Mr Trump, in his letter, did not specifically address how trade negotiations were proceeding, but he said the “tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your Country”.

In June, the Carney government scrapped a planned digital services tax targeting US technology companies after Mr Trump abruptly called off trade talks, saying the tax was a “blatant attack”. REUTERS