Trump threatens Canada with 10% extra import tax for not pulling down anti-tariffs ad sooner
Aboard Air Force One (AP): President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he plans to hike tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10 per cent because of an anti-tariff television ad aired by the province of Ontario.
The ad used the words of former President Ronald Reagan to criticise U.S. tariffs, angering Trump who said he would end trade talks with Canada. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would pull the ad after the weekend, and it ran Friday night during the first game of the World Series.
“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 aboard 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.”
It was unclear what legal authority Trump would use to impose the additional import taxes. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on when the 10% hike would come into effect, and whether it would apply to all Canadian goods.
Canada's economy has been hit hard by Trump's tariffs, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been trying to work with Trump to lower them. More than three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the U.S., and nearly $3.6 billion Canadian ($2.7 billion U.S.) worth of goods and services cross the border daily.
A spokesperson for Carney didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Many Canadian products have been hit with a 35% tariff, while steel and aluminum face rates of 50%. Energy products have a lower rate of 10%, while the vast majority of goods are covered by the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement, and are exempt from tariffs. That trade agreement is slated for review. Trump negotiated the deal in his first term, but has since soured on it.
Trump and Carney will both attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia. But Trump told reporters traveling with him that he had no intention of meeting Carney there.
Trump said the ad misrepresented the position of Reagan, a two-term president and a beloved figure in the Republican Party. But Reagan was wary of tariffs and used much of the 1987 address featured in Ontario's ad spelling out the case against tariffs.
Trump has complained the ad was aimed at influencing the U.S. 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.
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'Someone must be held accountable': HC converts civil suit on Goa nightclub tragedy into PIL
Panaji (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy in which 25 people were killed.In a stern observation, Goa bench of the High Court of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ashish Chavan said the local panchayat had "failed to take suo motu cognisance" of the club and had taken "no action despite complaints."
The division bench directed the Goa government to file a detailed reply on the permissions granted to the nightclub.
The High Court, while fixing January 8 as the next date of hearing, pointed out that commercial operations were continuing in the structure despite it having been served a demolition order.
The original petition was filed after the December 6 tragedy by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, the owners of the land on which the nightclub was operating.
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Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing the petitioner, was made amicus curiae in the matter and has been asked to file a detailed affidavit in the matter.
In their petition, Amonkar and Divkar highlighted "the alarming pattern of statutory violations that have remained inadequately addressed despite multiple complaints, inspections, show-cause notices, and even a demolition order".
They contended that these violations posed "immediate threats to public safety, ecological integrity, and the rule of law in the state of Goa."
Investigations by multiple agencies into the nightclub fire have revealed various irregularities, including lack of permissions to operate the nightclub.
The Goa police arrested five managers and staff members of the club, while co-owners Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra have been detained in Thailand after they fled the country.
