United States President Donald Trump says he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10 per cent because of an anti-tariff television ad aired by the province of Ontario.
The ad used the words of former US president Ronald Reagan to criticise US tariffs, angering Trump, who said he would end trade talks with Canada earlier this week in response.
The footage of Reagan is from a radio address he delivered in April 1987, and is available in full on the Reagan Library official YouTube channel.
“Over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer,” Reagan says during the address, in comments used by the ad.
Later in the speech, the former US president adds: “At first, when someone says ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports’, it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes, for a short while, it works. But only for a short time.”
Ontario’s premier Doug Ford said he would pull the ad after the weekend, and it ran on Friday night (local time) during the first game of the baseball World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers.
“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 in a post on his Truth Social platform as he flew aboard Air Force One to Malaysia.
“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 two countries have been in talks for weeks on a potential deal for the steel and aluminium sectors.
Ontario premier Doug Ford said the ads would be pulled after the weekend. Source: AAP / AP / Nathan Denette
Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will both attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia.
But Trump told reporters travelling with him that he had no intention of meeting Carney there.
Carney said on Saturday (AEDT) that Canada was ready for further trade talks whenever the United States is ready
“We stand ready to pick up on that progress and build on that progress when the Americans are ready,” he told reporters.
“We cannot control the trade policy of the United States.”
— Reporting by the Associated Press via the Australian Associated Press, with additional reporting by Reuters.
