US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened Canada with an additional 10 per cent increase in tariffs on imports of Canadian goods if the province of Ontario does not remove an anti-tariff television advertisement airing.
The ad uses former US President Ronald Reagan’s words to criticize US tariffs, which angered Trump who said he would end trade talks with Canada.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would remove the ad after the weekend, and the ad aired during the World Series opener on Friday night.
“Their ad should have been removed immediately, but they allowed it to air last night during the World Series even though they knew it was a lie,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform as he boarded Air Force One to Malaysia. “Due to his misrepresentation of facts and hostile behavior, I am increasing the tariffs currently imposed on Canada by 10 percent,” he said.
It is unclear what legal authority Trump would use to impose additional import taxes.
The White House, the official residence and office of the US President, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on when the 10 per cent increase would go into effect and whether it would apply to all Canadian goods.
Trump’s tariffs have caused huge damage to the Canadian economy and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is trying to reduce them through negotiations with Trump. More than three-quarters of Canada’s exports go to the US and approximately 3.6 billion Canadian dollars (2.7 billion US dollars) worth of goods and services cross the border every day. A spokesperson for Carney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A 35 per cent duty has been imposed on many Canadian products while a 50 per cent duty has been imposed on steel and aluminium. There is a 10 percent duty on energy products, while most goods fall under the US-Canada-Mexico agreement and are duty-free.
Both Trump and Carney will attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia, but Trump told reporters traveling with him that he had no plans to meet Carney there. Trump said the two-time President Reagan’s stance has been misrepresented in the ad.