President Reagan's Radio Address on Free and Fair Trade on April 25, 1987

Oct 10, 2017

Trump Raises Tariffs on Canada by 10% in Retaliation for Anti-tariff TV Ad

THE GUARDIAN: Move is response to ad sponsored by Ontario that referenced Ronald Reagan’s support for free trade

Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he will raise US tariffs on Canada by 10% in retaliation for an anti-tariff advertisement sponsored by the Ontario government, which has further strained one of the world’s largest trade partnerships.

The statement, posted on Trump’s Truth Social account, came after several days of public disputes over the ad, which referenced Ronald Reagan’s support for free trade and provoked the US president’s anger.

“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 Saturday on social media. » | Marina Dunbar | Saturday, October 25, 2025

Trump Says He’s Cutting Off Trade Negotiations With Canada

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The president said he was motivated by an ad, paid for by the province of Ontario, that featured Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs in a 1987 radio address.

President Trump said late Thursday that he was terminating negotiations with Canada over the high tariffs that he imposed on its steel, auto parts and other major exports, adding new uncertainty to the relationship with America’s second-biggest trading partner.

On Truth Social, the president said he was ending all trade negotiations with Canada because of a video ad, paid for by the province of Ontario, that featured former President Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs.

“TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A.,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”

Mr. Trump claimed that the ad was fake and said that it had been placed “to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court,” which is currently considering a legal challenge to many of Mr. Trump’s tariffs. » | Ana Swanson and Matina Stevis-Gridneff | Reporting from Washington and Toronto | Thursday, October 23, 2025

Generally speaking, tariffs are passé. They are the economic tool of old-fashioned thinkers and of people who do not understand economics. They are not an economic tool useful in generating or furthering prosperity. Further, having a tantrum is not going to make Trump’s tariffs bring about prosperity, neither for Americans nor for the rest of the world. — © Mark Alexander

Brazil’s President to Trump: ‘I Want to Be Treated With Respect’

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Faced with threats of 50 percent tariffs and demands to end a criminal case, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he wouldn’t take orders from President Trump.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil is outraged.

President Trump is trying to push around his nation of 200 million, dangling 50 percent tariffs as a threat, Mr. Lula said in an interview. And yet, he added, the U.S. president is ignoring his government’s offers to talk.

“Be sure that we are treating this with the utmost seriousness. But seriousness does not require subservience,” the Brazilian president said. “I treat everyone with great respect. But I want to be treated with respect.”

Mr. Lula granted his first interview to The New York Times in 13 years on Tuesday, in part because he wanted to speak to the American people about his frustration with Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump has said that, starting on Friday, he plans to impose 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian goods, in large part because Brazilian authorities have charged former President Jair Bolsonaro with trying to hold on to power after losing the 2022 election.

Mr. Trump has called the case a “witch hunt” and wants it dropped. Mr. Lula said that was not up for negotiation. “Maybe he doesn’t know that here in Brazil, the judiciary is independent,” he said.

In the interview, Mr. Lula said that the American president is infringing on Brazil’s sovereignty. » | Jack Nicas | Photographs by Victor Moriyama | Jack Nicas interviewed President Lula of Brazil in the nation’s capital, Brasília.| Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Leer en español.

Could Trump's Threats against Brazil Backfire? | Inside Story

Jul 19, 2025 | Deepening conflict between the US and Brazil -- over the prosecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro. US President Trump threatens 50 percent tariffs -- unacceptable blackmail, says Brazil's President Lula da Silva. So what's next? And who stands to win or lose?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan
Guests:
Graziella Testa -- Professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation who specialises in public policy
Vinicius Rodrigues Vieira -- Professor at the Armando Alvares Penteado Foundation
Michael Shifter -- Senior Fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue, a policy forum focused on Western Hemisphere affairs

Trump's Letter about Tariffs Was an Unacceptable Blackmail : Brazil's Lula

Jul 18, 2025 | Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that he would not take orders from a "gringo," responding to US President Donald Trump's letter slapping Brazil with 50% tariffs. In a letter last week, Trump attributed the tariffs, set to start in August, to Brazil's treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro and to alleged unfair trade practices by Brazil against US companies.

Trump’s 30% Tariffs Would ‘Practically Prohibit’ EU-US Trade, Says Šefčovič

THE GUARDIAN: EU trade chief says his team felt ‘very close’ to an agreement before US president’s comments at the weekend

Donald Trump’s threat to impose 30% tariffs on European goods would “practically prohibit” transatlantic trade, the EU’s lead negotiator with the US has said.

Arriving for talks with European ministers in Brussels, Maroš Šefčovič, the EU trade commissioner, said a tariff of 30% or more would have a huge impact, making it “almost impossible to continue” current transatlantic trade, which is worth €4.4bn (£3.8bn) a day.

Expressing disappointment, he said his negotiating team thought they had been close to a deal. “The feeling on our side was that we are very close to an agreement,” as he said the two sides had been negotiating an agreement in principle – the outlines of a deal – for four weeks prior to Trump’s blunt announcement at the weekend. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Monday, July 14, 2025

Trump Says EU and Mexico Face 30% Tariff from August

BBC: President Donald Trump has announced that the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% tariff on imports to the US from 1 August.

He warned he would impose even higher import taxes if either of the US trading partners decided to retaliate.

The announcement was made in two letters posted on Trump's Truth Social website. Similar letters were sent this week to several other countries.

The 27-member EU - America's biggest trading partner - said earlier this week it hoped to agree a deal with Washington before 1 August.

In the letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump wrote: "We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with the European Union, and have concluded that we must move away from these long-term-large, and persistent, trade deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-tariff, policies and trade barriers."

"Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal," the letter added. » | BBC | Saturday, July 12, 2025

Trump Threatens 17% Tariffs on Food and Farm Produce Exports from Europe

THE GUARDIAN: EU says it ‘favours a negotiated solution’ but is prepared for potential trade war with retaliatory duties

Donald Trump threatened to impose 17% tariffs on food and farm produce exports from Europe during talks in Washington this week, it has emerged.

Such tariffs would hit everything from Belgian chocolate to Kerrygold butter from Ireland and olive oil from Italy, Spain and France, all big sellers in the US.

First reported in the Financial Times, sources confirmed that the EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, was given the warning on Thursday when he met the US treasure secretary, Scott Bessent, trade representative Jamieson Greer and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.

EU ambassadors were briefed on the threat on Friday. » | Lisa O'Carroll | Friday, July 4, 2025

Canadian Prime Minister: Trump Wants to Break Us

Mar 24, 2025 | Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said US President Donald Trump was trying to "break" Canada with tariffs and threats to its sovereignty, going so far as to say the country was "facing the most significant crisis" in decades. Trump has made numerous inflammatory remarks and false claims about the country as his tariffs rattle the continent.

See Canadian Official’s Response to Trump’s Verbal Attack on Canada

Mar 21, 2025 | Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly responds to President Donald Trump's inflammatory remarks about Canada during a Fox News interview on March 18

‘Dangerous Game of Chicken’: Trump Prepping New Tariffs, Threatening the Global Economy

Mar 19, 2025 | David Gura, Anchor and Correspondent for Bloomberg News and Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Communication Director for Donald Trump join Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House to discuss the looming date of April 2, which Donald Trump has called liberation day where he and his advisors plan to implement new tariffs on imports that could be worth trillions, and how the uncertainty and guessing game going on as to what the administration will impose has paralyzed the economy both here and abroad.

Trump Plots Tariffs Worth ‘Trillions’ on World Economy

THE TELEGRAPH: Donald Trump is preparing to impose tariffs on “trillions” of dollars worth of goods next month as he ramps up his global trade war.

The US president has already raised tariffs on roughly $800bn (£616bn) worth of goods from China, Mexico and Canada and introduced levies on global imports of steel and aluminium last week.

White House officials are drawing up plans to impose the levies on imports worth “trillions” from April 2, according to the Washington Post.

Mr Trump has said he would impose “reciprocal tariffs” on that date, which he said would be “a liberating day for our country”. » | Telegraph | Wednesday, March 19, 2025

World Leaders Put the Dagger in Trump before Putin Stunt

Mar 18, 2025 | MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on France and United Kingdom rolling out the red carpet for Prime Minister Mark Carney in his first foreign visit as they strengthen their alliances in the face of maniac Trump.

Trump’s Trade War Will Damage Growth OECD Warns | BBC News

Mar 17, 2025 | Economic organisation has said that President Donald Trump’s tariffs will be bad for global economic growth and living standards.

The leading economic think tank the OECD has shared its forecast saying the global economy will only grow by 3.1% this year.

The biggest changes will be felt in the United States's neighbours Mexico and Canada.


This is a self-inflicted wound. What comes will be a trumpcession. – © Mark Alexander

Pres Trump Says the US Doesn’t “Need” Canada. Is He Right? | Amanpour & Company

Mar 13, 2025 | In a trade war that is spiraling out of control, the gloves are off between the U.S. and Canada. Canada's next Prime Minister has promised to stand up to Trump. Eric Lascelles is Chief Economist of the Royal Bank of Canada Global Asset Management. He joins the show to look at what all this might mean.

Scott Galloway on Markets, Musk, and Trump’s “Weapons of Mass Distraction” | Amanpour & Company

Mar 12, 2025 | Scott Galloway believes there is method in Trump's "MAGA-nomics" -- from a tariff war to tax cuts for the rich. Galloway is an NYU professor, author and podcast host. He joins the show to break down what Trump's policies mean for the American economy.

Too Hard to Swallow? Why Trump's Proposed Tariffs on European Wine Could Crush the EU Wine Industry

Mar 14, 2025 | US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 200% tariffs on European wine. This comes after the EU retaliated against US duties on European steel and aluminum. As a top wine producer, France is particularly vulnerable to the latest levies.

Donald Trump Threatens 200% Tariff on EU Wine and Champagne

THE GUARDIAN: US president says levy on alcohol imports would be retaliation for ‘nasty’ 50% tariff imposed on bourbon whiskey

Donald Trump has threatened a 200% tariff on wine and champagne from European Union countries, in the latest threat of escalation in the global trade war started by the US president against the country’s biggest trading partners.

Trump said in a post on Thursday on his Truth Social platform that the tariffs on all alcoholic products from the bloc would be retaliation for a “nasty” 50% levy on American bourbon whiskey announced by the EU.

The EU’s action against bourbon whiskey – due to come into force on 1 April – was itself part of a €26bn response to Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which came into effect on Wednesday.

Trump claims the US’s trading partners have taken advantage of the US and that tariffs will help him to bring back jobs – a theory that is roundly rejected by most mainstream economists. » | Jasper Jolly, and Angelique Chrisafis in Paris | Thursday, March 13, 2025

EU Retaliates Against Trump's New Metal Tariffs | Full Remarks

Mar 12, 2025 | The European Union launched countermeasures on Wednesday against new US metals tariffs, with plans to impose its own duties on €26 billion ($28.3 billion) worth of American goods. The announcement came hours after the US administration imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in a massive escalation of the trade war between two longstanding allies. The EU will immediately begin consultations with member states, with adoption of the tariffs expected in mid-April. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU's trade chief, Maros Sefcovic gave a press briefing setting out the full scope of their response at a press briefing in Strasbourg