Summary
- Trump
called Canadian anti-tariff ad “crooked” and
“dishonest.” - Suggested
ad excerpts of Reagan speech may be AI-generated. - Ad
uses Reagan quotes warning tariffs spark trade wars.
The provincial government of Ontario sponsored the ad, which
criticizes U.S. tariffs by using actual but edited clips from a Reagan speech
in April 1987 regarding placing tariffs on Japan.
“Canada lied,”
Trump told reporters Friday as he prepared to
depart for an Asia trip.
“They made up a fake statement by President Reagan.
Reagan was a big supporter of tariffs when needed. We need tariffs for national
security, and they totally turned it around because they’re getting hurt by
tariffs, and we’re gaining by tariffs.”
Trump continued,
“Reagan liked tariffs and when necessary,
he would use tariffs, It’s made us a very rich country. It’s also made us, when
it was used against us, not good for us. But we’ve used them very
successfully.”
Trump responded by declaring on Thursday that he was
terminating all trade talks with Canada.
The Reagan Presidential Foundation denounced the
advertisement as unlawful and a distortion of Reagan’s beliefs. The charity
stated that it is looking into legal alternatives regarding the audio’s use.
Trump reiterated these worries, claiming that Canada was
attempting to sway a future ruling by the US Supreme Court about his expansive
tariff plan.
After meetings with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney,
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced
on Friday that he will remove the advertisement to allow trade negotiations to
resume.
Ford said the campaign’s goal was to spark dialogue about
the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses.
“We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at
the highest levels,”
Ford said in a statement Friday. “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.”
What trade talks were halted after the ad?
The trade addresses that were halted by President Donald
Trump after the controversial Canadian anti-tariff announcement involved
ongoing accommodations between the United States and Canada regarding tariffs
and trade programs. Trump announced the termination of all trade conversations
with Canada, citing the Ontario government’s announcement which featured
extracts from a Ronald Reagan speech censuring tariffs.
Trump indicted the announcement of being fraudulent and
designed to intrude with a pending U.S. Supreme Court case concerning his
authority to put tariffs on foreign products. This led to the immediate
conclusion of trade accommodations that had been progressing in the
environment of tariff controversies and profitable cooperation between the two
countries.
The addresses were part of broader efforts to resolve trade
pressures following the duty of tariffs on Canadian goods by the U.S.
administration before in 2025.
