Trump threatens 10% extra import tax on Canada in retaliation for anti-tariffs TV ads
Trump threatens 10% extra import tax on Canada in retaliation for anti-tariffs TV ads
M.U.H
26/10/202518
US President Donald Trump has announced that he will raise tariffs on Canada by 10 percent in retaliation for an anti-tariff TV advertisement sponsored by the Ontario government.
Trump claimed in a social media post on Saturday that the anti-tariff advertisement, which used audio clips from a speech by former President Ronald Reagan, twisted his words.
He said he was ending trade talks with Canada over the advertisement sponsored by the government of Ontario.
The statement, posted on Trump’s Truth Social account, came after several days of public disputes over the advertisement, which referenced Reagan’s support for free trade, triggering Trump’s anger.
“Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the tariff on Canada by 10 percent over and above what they are paying now,” he said.
Trump further said that the advertisement is a “fraud” and that the “sole purpose” of it was “Canada’s hope that the United States Supreme Court will come to their ‘rescue’ on Tariffs that they have used for years to hurt the United States.”
On Thursday, Trump said he was terminating trade talks with Canada, threatening once again to upend the trade partnership between the US and its second-biggest trading partner.
The advertisement, which was purchased by the Ontario government and broadcast on major US TV networks, featured clips from a speech in which President Reagan railed against tariffs. The ad quoted Reagan, who said tariffs hurt “every American worker and consumer” and were “triggering fierce trade wars.”
Meanwhile, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute claimed the advertisement had, in fact, misrepresented the former president’s words taken from a 1987 speech on tariffs.
Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford said he had consulted with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about the matter, and that the US ad campaign would pause on Monday “so that trade talks can resume.”
Before Trump’s abrupt cancellation of the trade talks, Ford had defended the advertisements, saying, “President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together.”
Trump signed an executive order in July, increasing tariffs on Canadian goods imported to the US from 25 percent to 35 percent. Since then, tensions between the countries have been escalating.
The trade dispute with the US has prompted Canadians to consider replacing their trade partnership with other global players, namely, the countries in the BRICS bloc.
Canada’s prime minister gave a strong message to Trump earlier this year, stating that Ottawa should “never forget the lessons” of Washington’s “betrayal” that has adversely affected the two countries’ trade ties.
He made the remarks after his Liberal Party gained control of the parliament amidst escalating tensions over the US trade policies.
“We will win this trade war,” Carney told cheering supporters in Ottawa, warning of “challenging” days ahead due to Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons.”
