From The Hill: President Trump announced Thursday that the U.S. would raise tariffs on certain Canadian goods from 25 percent to 35 percent beginning Friday.
Goods that are covered under the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement will be exempt from the tariff rate, the White House said.
The White House announced the increase hours before higher tariff rates on several countries were set to go into effect. Canada is among the United States’s top trading partners.
The White House released a fact sheet, explaining the decision. It said, in part:
Shortly after returning to office, President Trump declared a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to address, among other things, the public health crisis caused by fentanyl and illicit drugs flowing across the northern border into the United States.
Canada has failed to cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, and it has retaliated against the United States for the President’s actions to address this unusual and extraordinary threat to the United States.
- In response to Canada’s continued inaction and retaliation, President Trump has found it necessary to increase the tariff on Canada from 25% to 35% to effectively address the existing emergency.
- Goods qualifying for preferential tariff treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) continue to remain not subject to the IEEPA Canada tariffs.
- Goods transshipped to evade the 35% tariff will be subject, instead, to a transshipment tariff of 40%.
COMBATING CANADA’S CONTINUED ROLE IN THE OPIOID CRISIS: Given Canada’s continued failure to arrest traffickers, seize illicit drugs, or coordinate with U.S. law enforcement and Canada’s retaliation against the United States for the President’s actions to address the unusual and extraordinary threat to America, further presidential action is necessary and appropriate to protect American lives and the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
Earlier this year, Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on Mexico and Canada, expressing frustration that these countries had not taken sufficient measures to reduce the influx of fentanyl into the United States.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded early Friday saying Canada accounted for only 1 percent of fentanyl coming into the U.S. and that the country “has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes.”
“Canada’s government is making historic investments in border security to arrest drug traffickers, take down transnational gangs, and end migrant smuggling,” he wrote. “These include thousands of new law enforcement and border security officers, aerial surveillance, intelligence and security operations, and the strongest border legislation in our history.”
My statement on Canada-U.S. trade: pic.twitter.com/0PSG9kKtiO
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) August 1, 2025
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