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Trump Threatens 35 Percent Tariffs on Canada in the Middle of Trade Talks

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The president revived his discredited claims about fentanyl entering the U.S. from Canada to justify his latest proposed rate of 35 percent.

A highway leads to a border crossing between the U.S and Canada.

July 10, 2025, 11:03 p.m. ET

President Trump threatened on Thursday to impose a 35 percent tariff on Canadian imports, upending negotiations between the countries that had Canada’s representatives hopeful that a trade deal could be reached in a matter of weeks.

Mr. Trump posted a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada on social media outlining his latest threat. He said the new, higher tariff rate for Canada would go into effect on Aug. 1, though it was unclear if it would affect all Canadian goods, or if he would follow through. Mr. Carney’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Mr. Trump’s letter.

The letter to Canada resembled the format of letters Mr. Trump has sent to nearly two dozen American trading partners this week. But it deviated from the other letters by accusing Canada of having “financially retaliated” against the United States with its own tariffs. It also raised Mr. Trump’s repeated assertion — unsupported by American and Canadian data — that Canada had not done enough to stop the flow of fentanyl across the U.S.-Canada border, as well as his complaints about Canada’s high tariffs on U.S. dairy farmers.

Mr. Trump also suggested that the new tariffs were subject to further negotiations ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline. “These Tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your Country,” Mr. Trump concluded.

Tariffs of 35 percent, if applied widely, could harm Canada’s export-dependent economy, which relies heavily on the United States, it’s biggest trading partner.

Earlier this year, Mr. Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada but then exempted most products that qualify as North American under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the trade pact he signed in his first term. The exceptions were for steel and aluminum, which now have a 50 percent charge, and vehicles, which take into account American components. Mr. Trump also set a lower tariff rate for oil, fertilizer and energy products from Canada.