Trump punishes Canada with additional 10% import tax for not withdrawing anti-tariff announcement sooner

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump said Saturday he plans to raise tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an additional 10% due to an anti-tariff television ad aired by the province of Ontario.

The ad used the words of former President Ronald Reagan 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 on Friday and Saturday during the first two games of the World Series.

“Their ad was supposed to be pulled IMMEDIATELY, but they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing it was a FRAUD,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform while flying aboard Air Force One to Malaysia.

“Due to their gross misrepresentation of facts and hostile act, I am raising the tariff to Canada by 10% above what they are paying now.”

It was unclear what legal authority Trump would use to impose 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 products.

Dominic LeBlanc, the Canadian minister responsible for trade issues with the United States, attempted to draw a distinction, noting in a statement that responsibility for negotiations lies with Canada’s federal government, not provincial leaders.

“The best way to make progress is through direct engagement with the US administration,” he said.

Canada’s economy has been hit hard by Trump’s tariffs, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been trying to work with Trump to reduce them. More than three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the United States, and nearly C$3.6 billion ($2.7 billion) in goods and services cross the border daily.

Andrew Harnik via Getty Images

Spokespeople for Carney and Ford did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Many Canadian products have been hit by a 35% tariff, while steel and aluminum face rates of 50%. Energy products have a lower rate of 10%, while the vast majority of goods are covered by the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement and are exempt from tariffs. That trade deal is scheduled for review. Trump negotiated the deal in his first term, but has since soured.

Both Trump and Carney will 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 misrepresented the position of Reagan, a two-term president and a beloved figure in the Republican Party. But Reagan was wary of tariffs and used much of the 1987 speech in the Ontario ad explaining the arguments against tariffs.

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

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News writers Rob Gillies in Toronto and Josh Boak in Tokyo contributed to this report.