Donald Trump has said he is increasing tariffs on goods imported from Canada by 10%, after the province of Ontario aired an anti-tariff advertisement featuring Ronald Reagan.
The US president called the advert a “fraud” and lashed out at Canadian officials for not removing it ahead of the World Series baseball championship in a social media post on Saturday.
Ontario’s premier said he would take it down to allow trade talks with the US to proceed, after Trump withdrew – but that it would still run in the US over the weekend.
Canada is the only G7 country that has not reached a deal with the US since Trump began seeking to charge steep tariffs on goods from major trading partners.
The US has already imposed a 35% levy on all Canadian goods – though most are exempt under an existing free trade agreement. It has also slapped sector-specific levies on Canadian goods, including a 50% levy on metals and 25% on automobiles.
Trump said while travelling to Asia on Saturday that he was “increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now”. Tariffs are paid by the companies that import foreign products, not the exporters themselves.
Three-quarters of Canadian exports are sold to the US, and Ontario is home to the bulk of Canada’s automobile manufacturing.
US-Canada trade minister Dominic LeBlanc said of the tariff increase: “We stand ready to build on the progress made in constructive discussions with American counterparts over the course of recent weeks.
“We will remain focused on achieving results that benefit workers and families in both the United States and Canada, and that progress is best achieved through direct engagement with the US administration.”
Trump’s decision comes after Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Friday that he would pause the anti-tariff advertising campaign “so that trade talks can resume”, after discussions with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
But he said it would still appear during games for the World Series, including between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Trump responded that the advert should have been pulled down “IMMEDIATELY”. A spokesperson for Ford stood by his statement on Friday.
The advert, sponsored by the Ontario government, quotes former US President Ronald Reagan, a Republican and icon of US conservatism, saying tariffs “hurt every American”.
The video takes excerpts from a 1987 national radio address that focused on foreign trade.
The Ronald Reagan Foundation, which is charged with preserving the former president’s legacy, had earlier criticised the advert for using “selective” audio and video and said it misrepresented Reagan’s address. It also said the Ontario government had not sought permission to use the footage.
While the minute-long advert only includes excerpts from the original, five-minute-long address, it does not alter Reagan’s words. It does however alter the order in which he made the comments.
Ford had previously pledged to run the Reagan advert in every Republican-led district in the US.
Both Trump and Carney will be attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Malaysia, but Trump told reporters accompanying him on Air Force One that he had no intention of meeting his Canadian counterpart during the trip.
Responding to the Trump’s rate hike on Saturday, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said it hoped “this threat of escalation can be resolved through diplomatic channels and further negotiation”.
“Tariffs at any level remain a tax on America first, then North American competitiveness as a whole,” the organisation’s CEO, Candace Laing, told the BBC.
The Reagan advert is not the only way that Ontario – home of the Toronto Blue Jays – is using the World Series as a platform to criticise Trump’s tariffs.
Ford and California Governor Gavin Newsom jokingly made bets about which team would win the series in a social media video on Friday.
Both men repeatedly joked about tariffs in the video, with Ford pledging to send Newsom a can of maple syrup if the LA Dodgers – who are based in Newsom’s state – win.
“The tariff might cost me a few extra bucks at the border these days, but it’ll be worth it,” he wrote.
In response, Newsom asked Ford to resume allowing American-produced alcohol to be sold in province liquor stores, and pledged to send him “California’s championship-worthy wine” if the Blue Jays triumph.
They ended their exchange both declaring: “Here’s to a great World Series, and a tariff-free friendship between Ontario and California.”
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