US president also eyes blanket tariffs of 15 to 20 percent on other trading partners as his trade war widens.President Donald Trump has announced that the United States would impose a 35 percent tariff on imports from Canada next month, while eyeing blanket tariffs of 15 or 20 percent on most other trading partners as he broadens his trade war.
In a letter released on his social media platform on Thursday, Trump told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney the new rate would go into effect on August 1 and would go up if Canada retaliated.
It was the latest of more than 20 such letters issued by Trump since Monday, as he continues to pursue his trade war threats against dozens of economies.
The letter on Thursday came despite what had been warming relations between Trump and Carney.
The Canadian leader visited the White House on May 6 and held a cordial meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.
They met again at the G7 summit last month in Canada, where leaders pushed Trump to back away from his punishing trade war.
In an interview with NBC News published on Thursday, Trump also said that 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.
In recent days, he also set new tariffs on a number of countries, including allies Japan and South Korea, alon …
