United States President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he planned to impose new 10% customs duties on Canada because of an advertisement against protectionism launched by the province of Ontario.
The ad featured speeches in favor of free trade made by former US President Ronald Reagan. This historical reminder angered Mr. Trump, who broke off trade negotiations with Canada.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that the ad would be removed after this weekend. A spokeswoman for Mr. Ford indicated, in an email following Mr. Trump’s announcement on the new customs duties, that the Ontario premier’s statement on Friday stood.
The ad aired during the broadcast of Game 1 of the World Series of Baseball between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Mr. Trump believes the ad should have been removed more quickly.
“Their ad was supposed to be removed immediately, but they left it up yesterday [vendredi] night during the World Series, knowing full well it was fake,” Donald Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform, while flying aboard Air Force One heading to Malaysia.
“Due to their gross misrepresentation and hostile action, I am increasing tariffs on Canada by 10% on top of what they currently pay. »
It was not yet clear on what legal basis Mr. Trump would base the imposition of these additional customs duties. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding when the 10% increase would take effect and whether it would apply to all Canadian products.
The Canadian economy has been hit hard by President Trump’s tariffs, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is trying to work with him to reduce them. More than three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the United States, and nearly $3.6 billion in goods and services cross the border every day.
A spokesman for Mr. Carney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Many Canadian products face tariffs of 35%, while steel and aluminum face tariffs of 50%. Energy products benefit from a 10% customs duty, while the vast majority of products are covered by the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement and are exempt from customs duties. This trade agreement needs to be revised. Mr. Trump negotiated the deal during his first term, but has since walked away from it.
Both Donald Trump and Prime Minister Carney will attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia. But the US president told reporters on board the plane that he had no plans to meet Mr Carney there.
Mr. Trump said the ad misrepresented the position of Ronald Reagan, a two-term president and beloved figure in the Republican Party. But Mr. Reagan was wary of tariffs and devoted much of the 1987 speech featured in the Ontario ad to making the case against them.
Mr. Trump denounced that the ad was intended to influence the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of oral arguments scheduled for next month, which could determine whether Mr. Trump has the power to impose his draconian tariffs, a key part of his economic strategy. Lower courts had ruled that he had exceeded his powers.
With information from the Associated Press
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