Trump threatens 35% tariffs on Canadian goods

US President Donald Trump has said he will slap a 35% tariff on Canadian goods starting 1 August, even as the two countries are days away from a self-imposed deadline to reach a new deal on trade, reports BBC.

The missive came as Trump also threatened blanket tariffs of 15% or 20% on most trade partners, and said he would soon notify the European Union of a new tariff rate on its goods.

Trump announced the latest levies on Canada on Thursday in a letter posted to social media and addressed to Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The US has already imposed a blanket 25% tariff on some Canadian goods, and the country is feeling the pain of the Trump administration's global steel, aluminium and auto tariffs.

The letter is among more than 20 that Trump had posted this week to US trade partners, including Japan, South Korea and Sri Lanka.

Like Canada's letter, Trump has vowed to implement those tariffs on trade partners by 1 August.

The US has imposed a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports, though there is a current exemption in place for goods that comply with a North American free trade agreement.

It is unclear if the latest tariffs threat would apply to goods covered by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Trump has also imposed a global 50% tariff on aluminium and steel imports, and a 25% tariff on all cars and trucks not build in the US.

He also recently announced a 50% tariff on copper imports, scheduled to take effect next month.

Canada sells about three-quarters of its goods to the US, and is an auto manufacturing hub and a major supplier of metals, making the US tariffs especially damaging to those sectors._Agencies.