U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday the U.S. will charge a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian imports starting Aug. 1.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney that was posted on Truth Social, Trump wrote “if for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 35% that we charge.”

Trump, who one day earlier announced the U.S. will place a 50 per cent tariff on copper imports effective Aug. 1, wrote that tariffs were originally imposed on Canada due to the U.S. fentanyl crisis, which the president claimed was partly due to “Canada’s failure to stop the drugs from pouring into our country.”

“If Canada works with me to stop the flow of Fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter,” Trump wrote. “These Tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your Country.”

Trump closed the letter with: “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Trump has repeatedly cited fentanyl as one of the justifications for launching a trade war against Canada. However, a July 1 report from The Manhattan Institute found that large Canadian-border seizures were “relatively rare,” with only one per cent of fentanyl pills, capsules or tablets seized coming from the northern border.

Trump also wrote that “there will be no Tariff if Canada, or companies within your Country, decide to build or manufacture product within the United States and, in fact, we will do everything possible to get approvals quickly, professionally, and routinely – In other words, in a matter of weeks.”

The president added there were other issues the U.S. had with Canada, including “unsustainable” trade deficits and Canada’s dairy sector, which he has falsely claimed numerous times that Canada imposes anywhere between 250 and 400 per cent tariffs on U.S. dairy products.

Canada-U.S. trade deadline approaches

Last month at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis, Alta., Canada set a 30-day trade deal deadline of July 21 with the U.S. However, the two sides appear to have cooled off that date.

The U.S. temporarily ended trade talks in late June over Canada’s digital services tax, but the federal government moved to drop the tax just days later and negotiations resumed. Carney said the move to drop the tax was part of a “bigger negotiation” for a final deal with the U.S.

Last week, Pete Hoekstra, the American ambassador to Canada, refused to commit to that date during an interview with CTV News. He also said that an eventual deal, whenever it may come, would be “good” for Canada and the U.S.

Speaking with reporters at the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said the federal government is “still hopeful” an agreement can be reached by July 21, despite the “complex negotiation.”

“Our teams are working extremely hard behind closed doors,” Anand said. “This is an effort that we are putting all our weight behind.”

David MacNaughton, Canada’s former ambassador to the U.S., said in an interview with CTV News the July 21 deadline was “not realistic at the present moment.”

“I don’t think that we’re going to reach anything of a significant breakthrough by the 21st,” MacNaughton said. “I think one can always hope for the best, but I think that’s not realistic at the present moment, because I think what we’ve got right now is (U.S.) President Trump is feeling pretty confident of his own position, not just with Canada, but elsewhere.”