Washington: In a statement posted on his social media platform Thursday, Trump notified Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that the new rate would be implemented starting August 1. and warned  that the rate could rise even more if Canada decided to respond with retaliatory measures.

On Thursday, Trump shared a letter via his social media platform addressed to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, stating that the new tariff would take effect on August 1. He warned that the rate could increase if Canada chose to retaliate.

This letter marked the latest in a series of over 20 such communications from Trump since Monday, as he continues to escalate his trade war threats targeting multiple countries.

The letter on Thursday came despite what had been warming relations between Trump and Carney.

The Canadian leader visited the White House on May 6 and held 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.

In an interview with NBC News published on Thursday, Trump also said that other trading partners that had not yet received such letters would likely face blanket tariffs.

“Not everybody has to get a letter. You know that. We’re just setting our tariffs,” Trump said in the interview.

“We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20 percent or 15 percent. We’ll work that out now,” Trump was quoted as saying by the network.

In recent days, he also set new tariffs on a number of countries, including allies Japan and South Korea, along with a 50 percent tariff on copper.