US President Donald Trump has threatened a 35 per cent tariff on goods imported from Canada, a dramatic escalation in an on-again, off-again trade war with America’s northern neighbour and one of its most important trading partners.
“Starting August 1, 2025, we will charge Canada a Tariff of 35 per cent on Canadian products sent into the United States, separate from all Sectoral Tariffs,” Trump wrote in a letter posted to social media.
NBC News also reported Thursday that Trump told Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker that the remaining US trading partners that have not yet received trade letters or reached framework agreements will be charged a blanket tariff rate.
“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,” Trump said, according to NBC News.
The US currently has in place its “baseline” 10 per cent tariff on imports from Australia, the lowest rate seen for any country around the world.
However, Trump’s remarks could indicate that if he doesn’t reverse his position, that could as much as double by August 1.
Australian exports to the US only add up to about four per cent of the national total, but an increase could still affect steel, aluminium, and pharmaceuticals exporters in particular.
Trump’s letter to Canada comes after he sent more than 20 letters to countries this week informing them what rates their goods will be tariffed at come August 1, absent any trade deals.
Canada is the top buyer of US exported goods, importing US$349 billion ($531.9 billion) worth last year, according to Department of Commerce data. Tariffing Canadian goods could, therefore, backfire if additional retaliatory tariffs are put in place on American goods.
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Trump threatened to respond to any such tariffs by raising rates on Canadian goods.
Meanwhile, Canada shipped US$413 billion ($629.4 billion) worth of goods to the US last year, the third-highest source of foreign goods.