President Donald Trump said Thursday night that he would end U.S. trade talks with Canada over an ad bought by the government of Ontario, a Canadian province.
“Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs,” Trump railed in a Truth Social post, suggesting that the Canadian province was trying to influence an upcoming Supreme Court decision on the legality of his tariff policies.
“Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump wrote.
The ad, broadcast on U.S. television networks, featured former President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs in a 1987 radio address and outlining their negative impacts on the American economy.
“Over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer,” Reagan says in the ad. Reagan also warns of retaliation and the “triggering of fierce trade wars” that spur job losses.
In a statement shared by Trump, the Ronald Reagan Foundation said that the ad had used “selective audio and video” of Reagan.
Trump argued that Reagan had, in fact, “loved” tariffs in a follow-up post on his Truth Social platform. But Reagan was clear in his speech that he only reluctantly put tariffs on Japan and criticized congressional Democrats for proposing higher trade barriers on other countries.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford initially doubled down on his government’s invocation of Reagan and the Republican trade policy of old.
“Canada and the United States are friends, neighbours and allies. President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together,” Ford wrote in a post to X on Friday morning that also included a link to the full five minutes of Reagan’s unedited radio address.
But later in the day, the Ontario premier said that his government would axe the ad beginning Monday.
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"Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses," Ford said. "We've achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels."
Canada still faces tariffs of 35% on its U.S. exports that are not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a North American free trade deal. The bulk of Canadian exports are exported under the pact. It also faces industry-specific tariffs applied to steel, aluminum, cars and lumber.
Negotiations have been underway between the two countries to find a mutually acceptable way to lower tariffs. Prime Minister Mark Carney traveled to Washington earlier this month, where he and Trump directed officials to focus on steel, aluminum and energy trade issues. But the latest rift threatens to upend those talks.
Canada, the U.S. and Mexico have also begun gathering industry feedback ahead of a planned review of the USMCA slated for next year.
Director of the White House's National Economic Council Kevin Hassett told Fox Business in an interview on Friday that "sometimes, when you're frustrated, a timeout is the right call."
"Right now, I think there's been frustration with the behavior of the Canadians, the demeanor of the Canadians, the positions of the Canadians, and so it's probably a good time to take a break for a while," Hassett added.
It is not the first time Trump has walked away from Canadian negotiations, only to return to them once he has extracted fresh concessions. In June, the president said he would terminate all trade talks with the country over its decision to press ahead with a digital services tax that would impact U.S. companies.
The Canadian government nixed the incoming tax, and negotiations were able to restart.
Speaking to reporters before a trip to Asia on Friday morning, Carney said that Canada would be ready to restart negotiations whenever the U.S. is ready, arguing that a lot of progress had already been made on steel, aluminum and energy talks.
"We stand ready to pick up on that progress and build on that progress when the Americans are ready to have those discussions," he said, "because it will be for the benefit of workers in the United States, workers in Canada and families in both of our countries."
Carney and Trump will both be at summits in Malaysia and South Korea in the coming days.
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