Trump cuts off trade talks with Canada over Reagan tariff ad

President Trump said Thursday he was cutting off trade negotiations with Canada, citing an ad campaign that used former President Reagan’s warnings about the long-term risks of tariffs amid the trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada.

Trump in a post on Truth Social accused Canada of using the ad to “interfere” with a pending Supreme Court case to determine Trump’s authority to impose sweeping tariffs on other countries. 

“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,” Trump posted. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has clashed with Trump repeatedly, announced the ad campaign earlier this month. The ad features a clip of a 1987 address by Reagan in which he spoke about tariffs imposed on Japanese imports at the time, while warning that long-term trade disputes hurt consumers.

“High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens,” Reagan says in the ad. “Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industries shut down and millions of people lose their jobs.”

Trump in August announced a 35 percent tariff on all Canadian goods, though products covered under the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement were exempt.

Canada is one of the United States’ top trading partners, and their economies are heavily intertwined when it comes to certain products. But Trump has repeatedly argued the U.S. does not need Canadian goods, and that Canada is far more reliant on America for its economy.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House earlier this month, where he and Trump discussed trade. 

"There’s still great love between the two countries, but you know American people want product here, they want to make it here,” Trump said during the meeting. “We are competing for the same business. That’s the problem."