Trump Announces 10% Tariff Increase on Canada Following Advertisement Airing
WASHINGTON D.C. – president Donald Trump announced Saturday he will increase tariffs on Canadian goods by 10% in response to a television advertisement aired by the Ontario provincial government. The ad utilizes excerpts from a 1987 speech by former President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs, arguing they lead to job losses and trade wars.
The advertisement, which Trump labeled “fraudulent,” surfaced as trade negotiations between the U.S.and Canada regarding steel and aluminum tariffs where suspended. Trump had previously imposed tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, and automobiles earlier this year, prompting retaliatory tariffs from Ottawa.
The Ontario government, led by Doug Ford, had agreed to pause airing the advertisement on Monday to facilitate the resumption of trade talks, following a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. however, the ad aired Friday during a Major League Baseball World Series game featuring the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles dodgers, triggering Trump’s response.
“Their ad should be taken down INSTANTLY, but they aired it last night during the World Series, knowing it was FRAUD,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. He added,”Because of the serious misrepresentation of facts and the antagonistic act,I will increase Canada’s tariffs by 10% above what they are paying now,” without specifying which products would be affected.
Trump made the proclamation while traveling aboard Air Force One en route to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the 47th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation released a statement Thursday night asserting the Ontario government was “selectively using audio and video” of Reagan and did not obtain permission to use or edit his statements. Though,the BBC reported that while excerpts were chosen from Reagan’s 1987 speech,his words were not distorted.
As of Saturday, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the White House, and the Canadian Prime Minister’s office had not issued official statements regarding the announcement or its repercussions.
