USA: Trump announces additional tariffs against Canada

US President Donald Trump has announced additional tariffs of ten percent against Canada . The Republican, on the Truth Social platform, cited the failure to immediately remove an allegedly misleading Canadian advertising campaign against tariffs. Instead, Trump wrote, it was shown last night during a World Series baseball game. On Friday, following strong criticism from Trump, the Canadian province of Ontario suspended the broadcast of the anti- tariff commercial – but not immediately. The video will not be available until Monday.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford justified suspending the commercial by arguing that it would allow trade talks with the US to resume, which Trump had halted because of the video. He argued that the commercial had succeeded in reaching the American public at the highest level. The intention was to initiate a discussion about the impact of tariffs on workers and companies. But instead of a rapprochement, Trump responded with a tariff surcharge. Even when Trump announced the halt to trade talks with his neighbor, he accused Canada of a misleading advertising campaign.

In the video released by the government of the Canadian province of Ontario, the voice of former US President Ronald Reagan can be heard discussing the disadvantages of tariffs. Tariffs are one of Trump's favorite foreign policy tools, as he repeatedly emphasizes. The US organization "The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute" had previously complained that recordings of a previous radio address by Reagan from 1987 had been used for the promotional clip without permission. Furthermore, the makers of the video had misleadingly embedded the "selectively used" statements of the Republican, who died in 2004, in the video. The organization wrote in a statement published on X that it is considering legal action.

In his most recent post, Trump accused Canada not only of misrepresentation but also of a "hostile act." He also again insinuated that Canada was trying to influence judges in the United States who deal with tariffs. Trump was referring to the highest court in the United States. The Supreme Court is currently considering Trump's tariff policy at the request of the US government. The US president is hoping for support from the justices after suffering defeats in lower courts.

Just a few weeks ago, Trump received Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House and had kind words for him. He stated that they wanted to reach agreements that would be good for both countries. Trump also spoke of the progress that had been made in recent months. This followed the imposition of US tariffs of 35 percent on many imports from Canada in August. Trump justified the move by claiming that Canada was doing too little to combat drug trafficking and that drugs were crossing the border into the US. During Carney's visit a few weeks ago, Trump praised the country for now taking stronger action against drug trafficking.