Trump said on Saturday that he would impose an additional 10% tariff on Canada, in response to a "anti-tariff" ad launched by Ontario. The ad quoted Reagan's 1987 speech on "free trade," subtly mocking Trump's tariff policies, which caused strong dissatisfaction from Trump.

Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Because they have seriously distorted the facts and taken hostile actions, I will increase Canada's tariffs by another 10%, raising the rate on top of the existing one."

The current base tariff rate for the United States on Canada is 35%, but due to exemption clauses under the USMCA, most Canadian exports are not actually subjected to the 35% tariff. However, steel, aluminum, and some cars remain within the tariff range.

Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau has been trying to negotiate with the U.S. to lower tariffs. Ontario Premier Ford stated that after discussing with Trudeau, the advertisement will be suspended on Monday, hoping to resume negotiations. This conflict over the ad has once again introduced uncertainty into the $900 billion trade relationship between the two countries last year. The industrial supply chains of the two countries have long been closely intertwined — especially in steel, energy, and automobiles.

Trump said he has no plans to meet with the Canadian Prime Minister during his upcoming trip to Malaysia and South Korea for the summit. Canada stated: "We are willing to continue talking, but we need to wait until the U.S. is ready to come back to the table."

Reagan gave a nationwide television address on March 27, 1987, on "Trade With Japan / Address on the U.S. Trade Policy." In this speech, Reagan explained his tariffs against Japan: "Imposing such tariffs, or any form of trade barriers and restrictions, is a measure I am very reluctant to take. The reason for doing so, I will explain further later. In the long run, these trade barriers will hurt every American worker and consumer. But the Japanese semiconductor issue is a special case. Our evidence shows that Japanese companies engaged in unfair trade practices that violated the U.S.-Japan agreement. We hope our trade partners will fulfill their agreements."

Reagan further explained why tariffs can only be a short-term tactic, not a long-term policy: "You see, when someone says, 'We should impose tariffs on imported foreign goods,' it sounds like a patriotic act, as if it is protecting American products and jobs. And for a short period, this approach sometimes does work — but only for a short time. What happens next? First, domestic industries will begin to rely on the protection provided by high tariffs. They will stop actively competing and pushing themselves to reform in management and technology, thus losing the ability needed to stay ahead in the global market. Then, worse things happen: high tariffs inevitably provoke retaliation from other countries. This leads to fierce trade wars. The result is: tariffs keep rising, trade barriers increase, competition decreases. As commodity prices are artificially inflated due to high tariffs (which equates to subsidizing inefficient and outdated production methods), consumers start to reduce their purchases. Then the worst scenario occurs: the market shrinks and collapses; businesses and industries fail; millions of people lose their jobs."

Trump claimed that Canada used a "false advertisement" that cited Reagan's criticism of tariffs, and therefore ended all U.S.-Canada trade negotiations.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846992147110921/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.