Washington. Us President Donald Trump said in a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday that 35 percent customs duty will be imposed on Canadian exports to the United States from August 1.

This is the latest of more than 20 letters trump has issued since Monday, in which he continues to threaten trade war against dozens of economies.

Canada and the United States are engaged in trade talks hoping to reach a deal by July 21, but the latest threat appears to have changed that deadline.

Both Canada and Mexico are trying to find ways to satisfy Trump so that a free trade agreement that unites the three countries known as the USMCA can be put on track.

“During the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Government of Canada firmly protects our workers and businesses. We will continue to do so as we work toward the revised deadline of August 1,” Carney posted on social networking platform X on Thursday night.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada deal replaced the previous NAFTA deal in July 2020 after Trump successfully pushed for renegotiation in his first term.

It was scheduled to be reviewed by July next year, but Trump has messed up the process by starting his trade war since taking office in January.

Products from Canada and Mexico were initially badly hit by 25 percent U.S. customs duties, with lower rates for Canadian energy.

Trump said he had not done enough on illegal immigration and the flow of illegal drugs across the border, targeting the two neighbours.

But eventually he announced a waiver for goods entering his country under the USMCA, which covered a large portion of the products.

Thursday’s letter comes despite the warm relations between Trump and Carney. Carney is facing his counterpart Trump’s regular view that Canada should become the 51st state of the United States.

Reciprocity

Canadian Prime Minister Carney arrived at the White House on May 6 and held a cordial meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.

They met again at the G7 summit in Canada last month. There, leaders pressured Trump to withdraw from his punitive trade war.

Canada also agreed to repeal taxes that affect U.S. technology companies. This prompted Trump to take revenge and cancel the trade talks.

Separately, Trump also announced in an interview with NBC that he was considering imposing a comprehensive tariff of 15 to 20 percent on August 1 in countries that did not receive his letter.

The letters announced that customs duty rates of up to 50 per cent will come into effect on August 1 in the case of Brazil if good terms are not found before August 1.

Trump told NBC that the letter would be sent “today or tomorrow (Friday)” to the European Union of 27 countries, America’s largest trading partner.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday he was willing to talk to the United States after Trump said his tough tariffs would hit the country.

He, however, reiterated that the Brazilian government is evaluating mutual measures. In a letter addressed to Lula, Trump criticized his behavior with his right-wing ally Jair Bolsonaro.