Trump threatens blistering 35% tariff on Canada blaming 1 alarming reason

Donald Trump has said he will impose a 35% tariff on Canadian goods starting August 1. The announcement came as a letter was published on Truth Social, blaming fentanyl coming over the border and says rate will go up if Canada retaliates.

"If Canada works with me to stop the flow of fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter," Mr Trump wrote. President Trump has previously accused Canada, as well as Mexico, of allowing "vast numbers of people to come in and fentanyl to come in" to the US.

In his response on X, Carney said that Canada has made essential progress to "stop the scourge of fentanyl" in North America, and that his government was committed to continuing to work alongside the US to protect communities in both countries.

US Customs and Border Patrol data shows only about 0.2% of all seizures of fentanyl entering the US are made at the Canadian border, with the rest confiscated at the US border with Mexico.

This comes after President Trump this week imposed a 50% tariff on copper imports, as well as slapping additional tariffs on a raft of other countries.

Mr Trump said that, from Aug 1, he would introduce a 20% tariff on goods from the Philippines, 30% on goods from Sri Lanka, Algeria, Iraq and Libya, and 25% on Brunei and Moldova.

It follows an announcement on Tuesday of tariffs on 14 countries, including Japan and South Africa. EU chief trade negotiator Maros Sefcovic told European lawmakers in Strasbourg on Wednesday that EU states were not being hit by new tariffs, adding that an extension of trade talks until Aug 1 would provide "additional space to reach a satisfactory conclusion".