President Donald Trump said he will increase US tariffs on Canada by 10% in response to an anti-tariff announcement from the province of Ontario which is affecting one of the largest bilateral trade relations in the world.
Trump’s Truth Social post follows days of public clashes over the adwhich invoked former President Ronald Reagan’s stance as a defender of free trade and sparked the ire of the current US president.
“Due to his gross misrepresentation of the facts and his hostile act, I am increasing the tariff to Canada by 10% above what they are paying now”Trump said on Saturday.
Since Canada is already under a US base tariff of 35%the impact of Trump’s new measure was not immediately clear. The 35% tariff does not apply to most Canadian products due to an exemption for products and shipments made under the rules of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Steel and aluminum products do not have this exemption, and Cars and trucks made in Canada can only partially qualify for exemption from Trump’s 25% tariffs on most foreign cars.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has held long talks with the United States to reduce taxes. Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Friday that the province will pause its advertising campaign in the United States on Monday after speaking with Carney in hopes of resuming talks.
The clash has revived uncertainty between two partners who exchanged $900 billion in goods and services last year and that have closely intertwined supply chains for important industries.
The president of the United States announced on Thursday that he would end all talks with Canada due to the announcement, which used excerpts from a 1987 Reagan speech defending free trade and criticizing tariffs as an outdated notion.
Trump made his latest announcement while heading on a three-nation trip to Asia which includes stops at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea.
When asked if he had plans to meet with Carney during the two summits, The American president said at the beginning of his trip that “I have no intention of doing it, no”.
After Trump first halted negotiations, Carney said Ottawa was prepared to resume discussions “when the Americans are ready.”and said the two sides had been making progress in steel, aluminum and energy.
The Canadian economy has been severely hurt by Trump’s tariffs, with about three-quarters of its exports going to the United States last year. Ontario, with about 16 million people, has been at the center of the trade war due to its steel and automotive industries.two sectors affected by Trump’s import taxes.
