Trump hands Canada 10% extra import tax for not pulling anti-tariff ad sooner
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10% because of an anti-tariff television ad aired by the province of Ontario.
The ad used the words of former president Ronald Reagan to criticise US tariffs, angering Mr Trump who said he would end trade talks with Canada.
Ontario’s premier Doug Ford said he would pull the ad after the weekend, and it ran during the first game of the World Series.
“Their Advertisement was to be taken down, IMMEDIATELY, but they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a FRAUD,” Mr Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform as he flew aboard Air Force One to Malaysia.
“Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.”
It was not immediately clear when the 10% hike would come into effect, nor whether it would apply to all Canadian goods.
Canada’s economy has been hit hard by Mr Trump’s tariffs, and Mr Carney has been trying to work with Mr Trump to lower them.
More than three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the US, and nearly 3.6 billion Canadian dollars (2.7 billion US dollars) worth of goods and services cross the border daily.
Many Canadian products have been hit with a 35% tariff, while steel and aluminium face rates of 50%.
Energy products have a lower rate of 10%, while other goods covered by the US-Canada-Mexico Agreement are exempt.
That trade agreement is slated for review.
Mr Trump negotiated the deal in his first term, but has since soured on it.
Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will both attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia.
But Mr Trump told reporters travelling with him that he had no intention of meeting Mr Carney there.
Trump said the ad misrepresented the position of Mr Reagan, a two-term president and a beloved figure in the Republican Party.
But Mr Reagan was wary of tariffs and used much of the 1987 address featured in Ontario’s ad spelling out the case against them.
Mr Trump has complained the ad was aimed at influencing the US Supreme Court ahead of arguments scheduled for next month that could decide whether Mr Trump has the power to impose his sweeping tariffs, a key part of his economic strategy.
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