Donald Trump has announced he will be raising tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10% because of an anti-tariff advert aired in Ontario.
The advert used the words of former US president Ronald Reagan to criticise US tariffs.
A furious Mr Trump on Friday cancelled “all trade negotiations” with Canada.
Doug Ford, Ontario’s premier, said he would pull the advert from Monday, but it continued to run over the weekend, including during the first World Series game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Mr Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform: “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.
“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.”
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Mr Trump claimed the advert misrepresented the position of Mr Reagan, a two-term president and a beloved figure in the Republican Party.
Mr Reagan had used much of his 1987 address, featured in Ontario’s ad, spelling out the case against tariffs.
Mr Trump said the advert was intended to influence the US Supreme Court ahead of arguments scheduled for next month which could decide whether the president has the power to impose his sweeping tariffs.
It was not immediately clear when the 10% hike would come into effect, or whether it would apply to all Canadian goods.
Canada – which is America’s closest ally, and one of their biggest trading partners – has been hit hard by US tariffs, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been trying to work with Mr Trump to lower them.
More than three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the US, and nearly 3.6bn Canadian dollars (2.7bn US dollars) worth of goods and services cross the border daily.
Many Canadian products have been hit with a 35% tariff, while steel and aluminium face rates of 50%.
Energy products have a lower rate of 10%, while other goods covered by the US-Canada-Mexico Agreement are exempt. That trade agreement is slated for review.
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Mr Trump negotiated the deal in his first term but has since soured on it.
The US president and Mr Carney will both attend the ASEAN summit in Malaysia which started on Sunday, but Mr Trump has said he has no intention of meeting Mr Carney there.
