Donald Trump hikes Canada tariffs 10% after Ronald Reagan ad row

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with US President Donald Trump. The US leader has said he was hiking tariffs on Canadian goods by an additional 10% as fallout continued over a Canadian anti-tariff ad. Photo / Getty Images

United States President Donald Trump has said he was hiking tariffs on Canadian goods by an additional 10%, in the latest fallout over a Canadian anti-tariff ad that featured the late US leader Ronald Reagan.

The announcement came two days after Trump said he had terminated all trade talks with Canada over what he called the “fake” ad campaign.

“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 on his Truth Social platform, posting the message as he flew to Asia for meetings with key regional leaders.

“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,” he said.

The ad from the Canadian province of Ontario used quotes from a radio address on trade that Reagan delivered in 1987, in which he warned against ramifications that he said high tariffs on foreign imports could have on the US economy.

It cited the Republican icon as saying that “high tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars”, a quote that matches a transcript of his speech on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library’s website.

The Ronald Reagan Foundation wrote on X on Thursday (local time) that the Ontario Government had used “selective audio and video” and that it was reviewing its legal options.

Adding extra spice to the cross-border row, baseball’s World Series features a Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays, facing a US team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Blue Jays thrashed the Dodgers 11-4 in the first game on Friday.

Ontario said it would pull the offending anti-tariff ad on Monday so that negotiations could restart.

Trump’s global sectoral tariffs – particularly on steel, aluminium, and autos – have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and squeezing businesses.

For now, the US and Canada adhere to an existing North American trade deal called the USMCA, which ensures that roughly 85% of cross-border trade in both directions remains tariff-free.

But in a speech last week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the US has raised “its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression”.

“Our economic strategy needs to change dramatically,” Carney added, saying the process “will take some sacrifices and some time”.

Trump and Carney are both set to be at a dinner on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit in South Korea on Wednesday. Trump has said he had no plans to meet Carney.

- Agence France-Presse