It was due to be reviewed by July next year, but Trump has thrown the process into disarray by launching his trade wars after he took office in January.
Canadian and Mexican products were initially hard hit by 25% US tariffs, with a lower rate for Canadian energy.
Trump targeted both neighbours, saying they did not do enough on illegal immigration and the flow of illicit drugs across borders.
But he eventually announced exemptions for goods entering his country under the USMCA, covering large swaths of products.
Today’s letter came despite what had been warming relations between Trump and Carney, who has been faced with his counterpart’s regular musings that Canada should become the 51st US state.
The Canadian leader came to the White House on May 6 and had a cordial meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.
They met again at the G7 summit last month in Canada, where leaders pushed Trump to back away from his punishing trade war.
Canada also agreed to rescind taxes impacting US tech firms that had prompted Trump to retaliate by calling off trade talks.
Separately, Trump announced in an interview with NBC that he was also thinking of slapping blanket tariffs of between 15% and 20% on August 1 on countries that had not yet received one of his letters.
The letters announce tariff rates of as much as 50% in the case of Brazil to kick in on August 1 unless better terms can be found before then.
Trump told NBC the letter to the 27-country European Union, the US’s biggest trading partner, would be sent “today or tomorrow [Friday local time].”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva today said he is willing to negotiate with the United States after Trump said he would hit the country with his tough tariff.
However, he reiterated that the Brazilian Government is evaluating reciprocity measures.
In his letter addressed to Lula, Trump criticised the treatment of his right-wing ally Jair Bolsonaro.
- Agence France-Presse
