President Trump said on Saturday that he would increase tariffs on Canadian goods by 10 percent to punish America’s second-largest trading partner over an ad, paid for by the province of Ontario, that used original audio of Ronald Reagan denouncing tariffs.
Mr. Trump, who suspended monthslong talks with Canada over reducing the tariffs on Thursday night because of the ad, has insisted the ad is “fraudulent” after the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said it had made “selective” use of the five-minute 1987 original Reagan address.
The audio used in the ad was authentic and minor edits to the original 1987 address did not alter the substance, in which Mr. Reagan was highly critical of tariffs’ consequences. Following Mr. Trump’s outrage over the ad, though, the province of Ontario pulled it, effective Monday.
Still, the commercial was still shown during the first World Series game Friday evening, during which the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in a home game.
“The sole purpose of this FRAUD was Canada’s hope that the United States Supreme Court will come to their “rescue” on Tariffs that they have used for years to hurt the United States,” Mr. Trump said in a social media post Saturday afternoon.
“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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
He did not provide further details.
The United States has a relatively low average rate of tariffs on Canadian goods, because the levies are not applied to goods covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement. But it has applied harsh tariffs on goods critical to the Canadian economy that are not covered by the trade agreement: autos, steel, aluminum and lumber.
Matina Stevis-Gridneff is the Canada bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the country.
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