- News
- World
- Americas
- US politics
Trump has made a habit of threatening tariffs on trading partners, often resulting in a drop in the markets, only for him to walk it back
Rhian Lubinin New YorkMonday 24 November 2025 14:31 GMTComments
CloseTrump warns Canada 'I can play dirtier' after Reagan anti-tariff advert
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox
Get our free Inside Washington email
Get our free Inside Washington email
Email*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
Donald Trump is yet to carry out a threat he made four weeks ago to slap Canada with an additional 10 percent tariff over a “fraudulent” ad featuring former President Ronald Reagan.
This year Trump has made a habit of threatening tariffs on trading partners, often resulting in a drop in the markets, only for him to walk it back, which in turn has earned him the nickname TACO — “Trump Always Chickens Out.”
Trump was so furious over the Canadian ad last month — which featured spliced clips from Reagan’s 1987 address where the late president said tariffs caused trade wars and economic disaster — that he suspended trade talks with Canada.
Canadian exporters were bracing for the worst over Trump’s threat to impose an additional 10 percent tariff, which would have seen the tax on Canadian goods jump to 45 percent.
But nearly a month later, the Trump administration has yet to send any official documentation instructing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to enforce the higher levy, and U.S. importers have not been notified of any regulatory guidance, Politico reports.
open image in galleryPresident Donald Trump is yet to carry out a threat he made four weeks ago to slap Canada with an additional 10 percent tariff over a ‘fraudulent’ ad featuring former President Ronald Reagan. (AFP via Getty Images)The tariffs would have hit the auto industry especially hard because automobiles and their components often have to cross the U.S –Canadian border more than once. Engines, transmissions or other components cross the border multiple times before they are assembled into a finished vehicle.
“We monitor the federal registry and follow executive order activity on a regular basis and haven’t seen any changes,” Flavio Volpe, the president of Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, told Politico.
A U.S. official told the outlet that the administration had decided to hold off on the additional tariffs “and continue to dangle the threat” in future talks.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
Trump suspended trade talks with Canada after the ad was shared by Ontario premier Doug Ford last month.
In the ad, Reagan was heard saying in a voiceover, “ When someone says, let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports, it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs... But over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars.”
It aired during the Major League Baseball World Series, which further enraged the president.
open image in galleryCanadian Prime Minister Mark Carney apologized to Trump over the ad that sparked the president’ fury. (Getty Images)“TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“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,” the president said in a follow up post. “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.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney apologized to Trump when the pair were both in South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
“I have a very good relationship [with Carney]. I like him a lot, but what they did was wrong,” Trump told reporters. “He was very nice. He apologized for what they did with the commercial.”
Carney claimed that he “did not want to go forward with the ad” after reviewing it with Ford before it aired.
After posting the ad, Ford declared “mission accomplished” after it was widely picked up in the U.S. media.
“They’re talking about it in the U.S., and they weren’t talking about it before I put the ad on. I’m glad that Ronald Reagan was a free trader,” Ford said.
Ford later said that he would pull the ad to allow trade talks to resume following discussions with Carney, but it continued to run during the World Series games between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers, which irked the president.
More about
Donald TrumpCanadatrade talkstariffMark CarneyJoin our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments
