Trump declares Canadian anti-tariffs ad invoking Reagan a ‘hostile act’, threatens extra import duty

2 days ago 6

October 26, 2025 — 12.44pm

US President Donald Trump has announced he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10 per cent because of an anti-tariff television ad using the words of former president Ronald Reagan aired by the province of Ontario.

Trump’s post on Truth Social on Sunday (AEDT) follows days of public clashes over the ad, which used excerpts from a 1987 Reagan speech defending free trade and slamming tariffs as an outdated notion that stifles innovation, drives up prices and hurts US workers.

On Friday (AEDT), Trump suspended trade negotiations with Canada. The next day, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would pull the ad after the weekend so that trade talks could resume. However, Trump escalated his response because the ad ran during the first game of the baseball World Series over the weekend.

“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,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform as he flew on Air Force One to Malaysia.

“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.”

Television advertising is a longer-term strategy of the Ontario government in its battle against American tariffs and the Reagan ad is not its first. Before this blow-up, a spokesperson for the Ontario premier said the government planned to run the Reagan spot for months on various networks at an estimated cost of $C75 million ($A82.3 million).

The Reagan quotations were edited together from different parts of his speech, prompting the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute to complain that the ad misrepresented the full address. The foundation said it was reviewing its legal options.

Trump also said the ad misrepresented the position of Reagan, a two-term president and a beloved figure in the Republican Party.

When Reagan delivered the radio address in 1987, he had just placed “select” tariffs on Japanese electronics for what he considered unfair trade practices. At the same time, he used the speech to urge Congress against passing a protectionist trade bill aimed at Japan, defended free trade as the best way to ensure US prosperity and protect American jobs, and spelled out the case against tariffs.

It was unclear what legal authority Trump would use to impose the additional import taxes, and the president did not specify the scope of his new measure.

US President Donald Trump as he departed the White House for a trip to Asia.

While Canada faces a US base tariff of 35 per cent, the rate does not apply to most Canadian goods – including millions of barrels of oil – because of an exemption for products and shipments made within the rules of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. This is a trade deal that Trump negotiated in his first term but since soured on, and it is slated for review.

Steel and aluminum products are subject to 50 per cent US tariffs on foreign metals, and Canadian-made cars and trucks are only partially eligible for exemption from Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on most foreign autos.

Trump’s tariffs have disrupted one of the world’s biggest bilateral trade relationships and hit Canada’s economy hard. More than three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the US, and nearly $C3.6 billion ($3.9 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border daily.

Candace Laing, head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Ottawa, said in a statement: “Tariffs at any level remain a tax on America first, then North American competitiveness as a whole. We hope this threat of escalation can be resolved through diplomatic channels and further negotiation.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been trying to work with Trump to lower tariffs. Both leaders will both attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia, but Trump told reporters travelling with him that he had no intention of meeting Carney there.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney before he boards a government plane in Ottawa to the ASEAN talks in Malaysia.

After Trump first halted the negotiations, Carney said Ottawa was prepared to resume discussions “when the Americans are ready”, and said that the two sides had been making progress on steel, aluminum and energy.

In contrast, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told Fox News that negotiations with Canada have “not been going well” and Trump is “very frustrated.”

The White House and the Canadian prime minister’s office did not provide comment on Sunday. A spokesperson for Ford said his earlier comments still stood.

Trump has complained the ad was aimed at influencing the US Supreme Court ahead of arguments scheduled for next month that could decide whether Trump has the power to impose his sweeping tariffs, a key part of his economic strategy. Lower courts had ruled he had exceeded his authority.

Trump has said the court would create a disaster if it overturns his country-based tariffs, including forcing the US government to refund companies billions of dollars in duties.