U.S. President Donald Trump has announced new 35-per cent tariffs on Canadian imported goods, prompting many to call for retaliation.
On Thursday, Trump published an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Mark Carney announcing the tariffs, which he says will come into effect on Aug. 1.
According to the president, the decision is based on the U.S. claim that Canada is failing to stop the flow of fentanyl into the country, along with having “many Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers, which cause unsustainable Trade Deficits against the United States.”
“As you will recall, the United States imposed Tariffs on Canada to deal with our Nation’s Fentanyl crisis, which is caused, in part, by Canada’s failure to stop the drugs from pouring into our Country.”
Trump also said he might consider adjusting the current tariffs if Canada works with the U.S. to stop the fentanyl flow.
The open letter also states that the U.S. could augment its tariffs if Canada retaliates, saying that “whatever number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 35 per cent that we charge.”
Since taking office at the beginning of the year, Trump has claimed that Canada is to blame for the country’s fentanyl issues, saying that it has “allowed tremendous amounts” of the drug to pass its borders, resulting in the president announcing numerous tariffs on Canada.
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However, since then, studies have indicated that a very small percentage of the drug has been found to come from Canada.
A Government of Canada study released in March revealed that less than 0.1 per cent of the fentanyl seized between 2022 and 2024 in the country has come from the United States Customs and Border Patrol at the Canada-U.S. border.
Additionally, one of Canada’s early responses to the trade war was to appoint former RCMP deputy commissioner Kevin Brosseau as a “fentanyl czar” with the objective of mitigating the amount of fentanyl crossing the border.
CANADA’S RESPONSE
Responding to the latest tariffs, Prime Minister Mark Carney revealed that the Canadian government will continue to “defend our workers and businesses,” by the Aug. 1 deadline.
In a post on X, Carney emphasized Canada’s efforts to deal with the fentanyl crisis and steps toward building a strong internal economy and looking for partnerships with other countries.
“The federal government, provinces and territories are making significant progress in building one Canadian economy. We are poised to build a series of major new projects in the national interest. We are strengthening our trading partnerships throughout the world,” he said.
The prime minister is yet to confirm whether Canada will respond with its own tariffs or other measures.
Since taking office, Carney has been working with provincial leaders to loosen trade barriers within the country and strengthen the country’s internal economic partnerships.
He has also recently travelled to European countries including the U.K. and France to strengthen its economic and security international partnerships.
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Last month, Canada had also announced a Digital Services Tax (DST), which would impose a three-per cent tariff on revenues earned from Canadian customers by major U.S. technology firms.
However, after Trump pushed back on the measure, calling it “a deal breaker for any trade deal with America,” the government decided to scrap the tax, which could have cost tech firms millions.
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DISAPPOINTMENT OVER NEW TARIFFS
After the announcement of the new tariffs, people online, including Canadians, took to social media to express their frustration.
Many are upset over Trump’s new move, calling for strong retaliation against the southern neighbour.
“Why do we even bother negotiating? Bring back the DST and double it. Export tax on potash and oil. Stop playing games with someone who doesn’t f**king knows what he’s doing,” one Reddit user said.
“Thirty-five per cent export taxes on all Canadian goods to the U.S. then. Special 350 per cent export tax on oil and potash. Their prices go up 70 per cent, all paid for by the U.S. taxpayers, while Canada gets to join in the plundering. Sounds good to me!” another user suggested.
“Negotiate better deals with Europe/Asia/South America, etc. Yes – There is going to be pain… We need to accept that and get through it. We can come out of it stronger. We cannot allow ourselves to constantly be bullied,” a different Redditor added.
Meanwhile, other social media users seem to be fed up with tariff talks, suggesting that Canada should give up negotiations altogether.
“Lol. Does anyone even care anymore? No agreement can be trusted anyway. America is no longer a reliable partner,” one Reddit user said.
“Close the borders, treat this as a hostile nation. Tired of this lunatic,” another user added.
“Whatever at this point lmao. We gotta weather it,” a different user said.
“Just levy retaliatory tariffs and ignore. Don’t give this guy any attention, don’t negotiate and don’t acknowledge his existence. He is a classic attention seeking narcissist,” another comment said.
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