Trump threatens Canada with a 10% tariff increase for not withdrawing an important announcement sooner

ABOARD Air Force One (AP) — President Donald Trump said Saturday he intends to increase tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an additional 10% because of an anti-tariff television ad aired by the province of Ontario.

The ad used former President Ronald Reagan’s words to criticize US tariffs, angering Trump, who said he would end trade talks with Canada. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would pull the ad after the weekend, and it ran Friday night during Game 1 of the World Series.

Read more: Ontario’s premier said he will withdraw the announcement that upset Trump so trade talks between the United States and Canada can resume

“Their ad was supposed to be removed immediately, but they allowed it to run last night during the World Series, knowing it was a scam,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform while on Air Force One to Malaysia.

“Because of their dangerous distortion of the facts and their aggressive action, I will increase the tariff on Canada by 10% above what they are paying now,” he added.

It is not clear what legal authority Trump will use to impose the additional import taxes. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on when the 10% increase would take effect, and whether it would apply to all Canadian goods.

The Canadian economy has been severely damaged by the tariffs imposed by Trump, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is trying to work with Trump to reduce these tariffs. More than three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the United States, and nearly C$3.6 billion (US$2.7 billion) in goods and services cross the border daily.

Carney’s spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Many Canadian products were hit with tariffs of 35%, while tariffs on steel and aluminum reached 50%. Energy products enjoy a lower rate of 10%, while the vast majority of goods are covered by the US-Canada-Mexico Agreement and are duty-free. This trade agreement is scheduled to be reviewed. Trump negotiated the deal in his first term, but has since backed away from it.

Trump and Carney are scheduled to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia. But Trump told reporters traveling with him that he had no intention of meeting Carney there.

Trump said the ad misrepresents the position of Reagan, a two-term president and a popular figure in the Republican Party. But Reagan was cautious about tariffs and used much of the 1987 speech that appeared in the Ontario Declaration making the case against tariffs.

Trump complained that the announcement was aimed at influencing the US Supreme Court ahead of arguments scheduled next month that could decide whether Trump has the authority to impose his sweeping tariffs, a key part of his economic strategy. Lower courts ruled that he exceeded his authority.

Associated Press writers Rob Gillies in Toronto and Josh Bock in Tokyo contributed to this report.