Trump turns up the heat: Slaps extra 10pc tariffs on Canada over ad dispute

In yet another dramatic twist to the simmering trade feud between Washington and Ottawa, US President Donald Trump has announced a fresh 10 per cent tariff on Canadian goods — this time over what he called a “fraudulent advertisement” featuring former President Ronald Reagan.

The extraordinary escalation came in a late-night Truth Social post on Saturday, where Trump accused Canada of deliberately airing the controversial ad — which criticised US tariffs using doctored footage of Reagan — during the World Series, despite his earlier warnings.

“Their advertisement was to be taken down immediately,” Trump wrote. “But they let it run last night, knowing it was a fraud. Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the tariff on Canada by 10 per cent over and above what they are paying now.”

Trump went further, accusing Canada of trying to sway the ongoing deliberations of the US Supreme Court, which is reviewing legal challenges to his earlier tariff decisions.

“The sole purpose of this fraud,” he thundered, “was Canada’s hope that the Supreme Court will come to their rescue on tariffs that they’ve used for years to hurt the United States.”

The Ontario government, which produced the advertisement, has since sought to defuse tensions. Premier Doug Ford announced on Thursday that the ad campaign would be paused starting Monday “so that trade talks can resume.”

But by then, the damage was done. On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney struck a measured tone, reaffirming his government’s willingness to engage in “constructive discussions” despite Trump’s abrupt termination of trade negotiations.

“For months, we have stressed the importance of distinguishing between what we can control and what we cannot,” Carney said before departing for the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia. “We can’t control US trade policy. We recognise that policy has fundamentally changed from what it was in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.”

Carney noted that Canadian negotiators had been making “a lot of progress” with their American counterparts in talks focusing on key sectors like steel, aluminium, and energy.

“Our officials have been working with their American colleagues on detailed, constructive negotiations,” he said. “We stand ready to build on that progress when the Americans are ready.”

The ad at the centre of the controversy featured archival footage of Ronald Reagan apparently denouncing tariffs — a clip Trump dismissed as “fake.” In a fiery Truth Social post late Thursday, he declared an end to all trade talks, proclaiming,

“TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY AND ECONOMY OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behaviour, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”

White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett backed the President’s stance, telling Fox News that Trump’s decision reflected “deep frustration” with Ottawa’s negotiating tactics.

“The president is very frustrated with Canada, and he has a right to be,” Hassett said, describing Canadian negotiators as “very difficult to deal with” and suggesting that “frustration has built up over time.”

The new tariff move adds another layer of uncertainty to one of the world’s largest and most tightly knit trading relationships. Trump has already imposed a 35 per cent tariff on some Canadian exports and has occasionally hinted — half in jest, half in challenge — that Canada “should be the 51st US state.”

As tempers flare and trade channels freeze, what began as a dispute over a political ad has now snowballed into a full-blown diplomatic drama — one that threatens to upend the fragile equilibrium of North America’s economic ties.

With IANS inputs