Trump Announces All Trade Talks With Canada Are ‘HEREBY TERMINATED’ Due to Country’s Ad
President Donald Trump announced on Thursday night that he is halting ongoing trade talks with Canada over what he called its “egregious behavior.”
The president upended international trade in April, when he announced sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries, including Canada. A report this week in Canada’s Globe and Mail said the U.S. and Canada are nearing a bilateral trade agreement, though Prime Minister Mark Carney pumped the brakes, stating, “I wouldn’t overplay it.”
On Truth Social, Trump cited an ad running in the U.S. that was paid for by the province of Ontario as the impetus for his decision. The ad in question (above) features a voiceover from a 1987 radio address by then-President Ronald Reagan.
Citing the Ronald Reagan Foundation, Trump called the ad “FAKE”:
The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs. The ad was for $75,000. They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts. TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT
In the speech from 1987, Reagan announced the imposition of new tariffs on semiconductors from Japan. He also criticized tariffs more broadly, but said the semiconductors were “a special case” and that there is “clear evidence that Japanese companies were engaging in unfair trade practices that violated an agreement between Japan and the United States.”
Every line in the ad was said by Reagan in that address, which you can read here and watch here. Some of his lines have been spliced together, and other remarks have been omitted. The ad does not mention Trump.
Here is an excerpt from the speech:
You see, at first, 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. What eventually occurs is: First, homegrown industries start relying on government protection in the form of high tariffs. They stop competing and stop making the innovative management and technological changes they need to succeed in world markets. And then, while all this is going on, something even worse occurs. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. The result is more and more tariffs, higher and higher trade barriers, and less and less competition. So, soon, because of the prices made artificially high by tariffs that subsidize inefficiency and poor management, people stop buying. Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse; businesses and industries shut down; and millions of people lose their jobs.
–
