US President Donald Trump has announced additional tariffs of ten percent against Canada. The reason given by the Republican on the Truth Social platform was that an allegedly misleading Canadian advertising campaign against tariffs was not immediately removed. Instead, it was shown again last night, Trump wrote.
“Because of their gross misrepresentation of the facts and their act of hostility, I am increasing Canada’s tariffs by an additional 10 percent compared to what they are currently paying,” Trump said Saturday on his online platform Truth Social. The controversial advertisement should have been withdrawn “immediately” and instead it was shown at two important sporting events, Trump criticized.
On Friday, the Canadian province of Ontario suspended the broadcast of the anti-tariff advertising clip after strong criticism from Trump – but not with immediate effect. Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Platform X that following a conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ontario would suspend its advertising campaign starting Monday.
Ford: We achieved our goal
Trump had previously stopped trade negotiations with the neighboring country because of the advertising clip. Ford justified the break for the advertising clip by saying that it would allow discussions to resume. Now it’s clear that it won’t work at first.
The Ontario Prime Minister had already announced that the advertising campaign would continue to be shown this weekend. The goal was achieved by reaching the American audience at the highest level. The intention was to initiate a discussion about the consequences that tariffs have on employees and companies.
Former President Reagan heard in advertisements
Even when Trump announced the halt to trade negotiations with the neighboring country, he accused Canada of a misleading advertising campaign. In the video released by the government of the Canadian province of Ontario, the voice of former US President Ronald Reagan can be heard commenting on the disadvantages of tariffs. Tariffs are one of Trump’s favorite instruments in foreign policy, as he repeatedly emphasizes.
The US organization The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute had previously complained that recordings of an earlier radio speech by Reagan from 1987 had been used for the advertising clip without permission – and that the makers of the video had misleadingly embedded the “selectively used” statements of the Republican, who died in 2004, in the video. Legal action is being considered, the organization wrote in a statement published on X.
In his most recent post, Trump accused Canada of not only misrepresentation but also a “hostile act.” He also again suggested that Canada wanted to influence judges in the United States dealing with tariffs.
Trump was referring to the highest court in the USA. The Supreme Court is currently dealing with Trump’s customs policy at the request of the US government. The US President is hoping for support from the judges after suffering defeats in lower courts.
