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Alsharq Tribune-Otaify
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he plans to increase tariffs on goods from Canada by an extra 10 percent because of an anti-tariff TV advertisement.
The ad, aired by the Canadian province of Ontario, featured former President Ronald Reagan criticizing U.S. tariffs. Trump accused it of misleading and threatened on Thursday to end trade talks with Canada.
"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," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform as he flew aboard Air Force One to Malaysia.
"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," he added.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would pause the ad, broadcast during the first game of the World Series on Friday night, after the weekend, according to media reports.
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball in North America, contested between the champion of the American League and the champion of the National League since 1903.
Meanwhile, the threat has sparked a backlash across Canada, particularly from its industrial and labor sectors.
Lana Payne, national president of Canada's major trade union Unifor, condemned U.S. move on social media, accusing Washington of attempting to weaken Canada's economy and seize its resources for the benefit of the United States.
"He wants to extort more from us. That's the playbook," Payne said, calling on Canada to "use our own considerable leverage" in response.
Canadian media quoted analysts as saying that behind the ad controversy lie a series of complex trade frictions, including Canada's recent retaliatory measures against U.S. automakers for reducing their production in the country.
