WASHINGTON – US 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 trade 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 Aug 1 and would go up if Canada retaliated.
READ MORE: Canada rescinds digital services tax to advance broader trade talks with US
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.
In an interview with NBC News published on Thursday, Trump said other trading partners that had not yet received such letters would likely face blanket tariffs.
"Not everybody has to get a letter. You know that. We’re just setting our tariffs," Trump said in the interview.
“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 was quoted as saying by the network.
Canada is the second-largest US trading partner after Mexico, and the largest buyer of US exports. It bought $349.4 billion of US goods last year and exported $412.7 billion to the US, according to US Census Bureau data.
Carney, who led his Liberal Party to a comeback election victory earlier this year 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.
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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."
Last month, the Carney government scrapped a planned digital services tax targeting US technology firms after Trump abruptly called off trade talks saying the tax was a "blatant attack".
