Trump says talks with Canada off after ad invokes Reagan as free-trader
USA
U.S. President Donald Trump intensified his criticism of Canada on Friday after terminating trade talks over a Canadian political advertisement that used Republican icon Ronald Reagan saying tariffs cause trade wars and economic disaster.
Trump, who imposed import tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and autos earlier this year, called the video ad fraudulent in a Truth Social post Thursday.
“Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had removed most of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports imposed by his predecessor, and the two sides have been in talks for weeks on a deal for the steel and aluminum sectors.
On Friday, Trump accused Canada of trying to influence the U.S. Supreme Court as it prepares to hear arguments next month over the legality of Trump’s sweeping global tariffs.
In an early morning Truth Social post he also said former President Reagan embraced tariffs, but Reagan was a free market and free trade proponent.
REAGAN VOICEOVER CRITICISES TARIFFS
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said this week that the ad from his provincial government, more than a week old, had caught the Republican president’s attention.
Ford has frequently urged Carney to take a more aggressive approach with Trump. Carney has visited Trump in the White House twice since becoming Prime Minister in March.
The ad’s voiceover consists of Reagan, a hero to many U.S. Republicans, criticizing tariffs on foreign goods while saying they cause job losses and trade wars.
“I heard that the president heard our ad. I’m sure he wasn’t too happy,” Ford said on Tuesday.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation said the ad used “selective audio and video”, and that it was examining legal options.
“The ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, opens new tab (by Reagan in 1987), and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks,” a Foundation statement said.
The video uses five complete sentences from the five-minute weekly address, spliced together out of sequence.
