Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reacted to US President’s “flow of fentanyl’ from Canada” claim on Friday, saying that Canada has “made vital progress to stop the scourge of fentanyl in North America.”
Carney posted on X, “We are committed to continuing to work with the United States to save lives and protect communities in both our countries.”
In a letter released to Mark Carney, Trump said the new rate would go into effect on August 1 and would go up if Canada retaliated. It was the latest of more than 20 such letters issued by Trump since Monday, as he continues to pursue his trade war threats against dozens of economies.
The 35% tariff is an increase from the current 25% rate that Trump had assigned to Canada and is a blow to Carney, who was seeking to agree a trade pact with Washington.
Trump complained in his letter about what he referred to as the flow of fentanyl from Canada. “If Canada works with me to stop the flow of Fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter,” Trump wrote.
Canadian officials say a miniscule amount of fentanyl originates from Canada but they have taken measures to strengthen the border, Reuters reported.
Carney said in the latest post, “Throughout the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and businesses. We will continue to do so as we work towards the revised deadline of August 1.”
The Canadian PM said, “We are building Canada strong. 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.”
Canada and the US have been locked in trade negotiations in hopes of reaching a deal by July 21, but the latest threat appeared to have shifted that deadline.
