WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a 10 percent increase in tariffs on Canadian goods. The decision followed an advertisement from Ontario’s government that aired during the World Series broadcast.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the higher tariffs would apply “over and above what they are paying now.” He described the ad as misleading and a “hostile act.”
The commercial featured a video of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan warning that tariffs can trigger trade wars and economic losses. The ad had been airing for several days before Trump reacted publicly. It aired again on Friday during Game 1 of Major League Baseball’s World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Friday that he had spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. After their discussion, Ontario agreed to pause the ad campaign on Monday so that trade talks with Washington could resume.
Trump had already suspended trade talks with Ottawa on Thursday after first seeing the ad. “Their advertisement was to be taken down immediately, but they let it run last night during the World Series,” Trump wrote. “Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, I am increasing the tariff on Canada by 10%.”
He posted the statement while traveling aboard Air Force One to Malaysia, his first stop on an Asia tour focused on trade issues.
Officials from the U.S. Commerce Department, the White House, and the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately comment. It was not clear which goods would face the new tariffs.
Most Canadian exports to the United States are exempt from tariffs under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was signed during Trump’s first term. However, in August, his administration imposed a 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods not covered by the deal. Earlier this year, Washington also applied 50 percent tariffs on global steel and aluminum imports.
Prime Minister Carney said Canada remains ready to resume negotiations with the United States. Both leaders will attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia. However, Trump told reporters he has no plans to meet the Canadian leader during the event.
White House adviser Kevin Hassett said Trump had become frustrated with the pace of talks with Ottawa. He noted that recent exchanges had been “less productive than expected.”
The controversial Ontario advertisement uses five sentences from Reagan’s 1980s radio address, rearranged out of sequence. While Reagan defended free trade in that speech, he also supported limited tariffs on Japan as a necessary exception.
The report was originally published by Reuters.