Trump says he’s increasing tariffs on Canada by 10% after Ontario’s Reagan ad
By Auzinea Bacon, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump said Saturday he is increasing the tariff on Canada by 10% over current levels, further escalating trade tensions over what he called a “fake” ad that featured parts of an anti-tariff speech by former President Ronald Reagan in 1987.
“Canada was caught, red handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement on Ronald Reagan’s Speech on Tariffs,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding, “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.”
The president’s post came after he said Thursday he was terminating trade talks with Canada, threatening once again to upend the crucial economic relationship between the United States and its second-biggest trading partner.
The ad, purchased by the government of Ontario and broadcast on major US television networks, featured clips from a speech in which Reagan railed against tariffs. The ad quoted Reagan, who said tariffs hurt “every American worker and consumer” and were “triggering fierce trade wars.”
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute said the ad misrepresented the former president’s words.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday that he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and that the US ad campaign would pause on Monday “so that trade talks can resume.”
But the ad would continue to run over the weekend during the World Series games, which is between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays, Canada’s only Major League Baseball team.
“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,” Trump said Saturday.
CNN has reached out to Carney’s and Ford’s offices for comment.
Canada has long been one of America’s top trading partners, behind China and Mexico, making trade tensions a heated topic. Last year, the United States imported $411.9 billion worth of goods from Canada.
Trump’s steep sectoral tariffs on autos, steel, aluminum, lumber and energy — some of the country’s key exports to the United States — have hit Canada especially hard. Canada’s unemployment rate is now at its highest point in nine years.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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