President Trump abruptly halted trade negotiations with Canada on Thursday night, citing a television ad airing in the United States that he claims amounts to foreign interference in a pending Supreme Court case over his administration’s “reciprocal” tariff policy.
His decision followed the Canadian province of Ontario purchasing airtime on U.S. television to run a commercial featuring a speech from President Ronald Reagan, in which Reagan spoke out against tariffs.
“The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs,” Mr. Trump said on Truth Social. He was referring to the Supreme Court’s November 5 scheduled oral arguments regarding legal challenges to a major portion of his tariff policies, which include country-specific rates.
“They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts,” he added.
The ad, which aired during an American League Championship Series game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners, begins 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.”
“But over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer,” Reagan continues in the ad, which was also posted on X by Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford.
“Using every tool we have, we’ll never stop making the case against American tariffs on Canada. The way to prosperity is by working together,” Mr. Ford wrote in his post.
In response, the Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute announced it was “reviewing its legal options” regarding the use of Reagan’s remarks. The foundation stated that “the ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks.”
This is not the first time Mr. Trump has ended trade negotiations with Canada. In June, he declared he was “terminating ALL discussions on trade with Canada,” citing concerns about how American tech companies and dairy farmers were being treated.
The Canadian government responded by imposing quotas on steel products.
Prime Minister Carney made a trip to the White House in early October, and relations between the two nations appeared to have improved. During an Oval Office appearance with Mr. Carney, President Trump discussed the “mutual love” between the United States and Canada.
However, tensions remain. “We want Canada to do great,” he said. “But you know, there’s a point at which we also want the same business.”
https://www.nysun.com/article/trump-ends-canada-trade-talks-over-television-ad-using-reagan-speech-against-tariff-policy