Bessent and Trump Evade Questions on Additional 10% Tariff on Canada
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in an appearance on "Meet the Press," evaded a question about the scope and timing of threatened additional 10% tariffs on Canadian goods.
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President Donald Trump on Oct. 25 threatened to increase duties against Canada because of what he said was a "serious misrepresentation of the facts" in an ad the government of Ontario ran using excerpts of a Ronald Reagan speech about tariffs (see 2510250001).
Bessent first said that he'd been traveling in Asia since the ad aired. "But I just think it was terrible, terrible judgment by this [Ontario] premier who has a bit of a reputation for being a hothead," he said.
He called it propaganda against U.S. citizens to air a commercial in the U.S. criticizing tariffs and protectionism.
"I know that the ad has been taken down, so, you know, we'll have to see," he said Oct. 26.
The next day, Trump was asked about the ad and his threat.
"Ronald Reagan loved tariffs. He used them sparingly. He made a mistake in that, and again, I was the biggest fan of Ronald Reagan, but on finance, on trade, it wasn't his strong suit, but he liked tariffs, and they totally changed that to say that he didn't, because they're catering to the Supreme Court," he complained.
He called Canada "one of the most difficult countries to deal with," and said, "Canada's been ripping us off for a long time, and they're not going to rip us off anymore."
Trump called the ad "dirty pool," and said Reagan's point in the address that was excerpted in the ad "was totally the opposite" of what he said.
The ad opens with Reagan saying, "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.
"And sometimes, for a short while, it works. But only for a short time."
The audio is legitimate, but some of the quotes were strung together. The full speech about tariffs on Japanese semiconductors and goods containing semiconductors says, "the way of prosperity for all nations is rejecting protectionist legislation and promoting fair and free competition."
Trump said that Canada took the ad down, "but they did it very late."
He said of the 10% tariff, "I don't know when it's going to kick in. We'll see, but I don't really want to discuss it."
He also said he would not meet with Canada's prime minister on the sidelines of the summits in Asia.
"I'm not going to be meeting with him for a while. I'm very happy with the deal we have right now with Canada. We're going to let it ride," he said.