Trump terminates Canada trade talks over anti-tariff Reagan ad

President Trump is terminating trade talks with Canada, saying that its most populous province interfered in the legal fight over his trade agenda with a television ad featuring Ronald Reagan.

Mr. Trump, writing on Truth Social, called the ad from Ontario inaccurate and said levies on goods brought into U.S. markets remain vital for national security and the American economy.

“Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Mr. Trump wrote.

Mr. Trump, who often jokes that Canada should become the 51st state, announced the U-turn after months of back-and-forth with Canada over trade, and as the Toronto Blue Jays take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, a point of pride in Canada. 

Canada had been negotiating with the U.S. on 35% tariffs on its products, though some goods are exempt under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement Mr. Trump negotiated in his first term.

The northern neighbor also wants to reduce or eliminate high U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum, cars and car parts. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney made a series of concessions to Mr. Trump and had cordial meetings with the U.S. leader at the White House.

However, Mr. Trump was enraged by TV ads that use clips from a 1987 speech delivered by President Ronald Reagan in which the former U.S. leader appears to speak against protectionist trade policies.

The clips are taken from a speech Mr. Reagan gave to dissuade Congress from approving tariffs against Japan. He says tariffs sometimes work but “only for a short time,” and often lead to high prices, retaliation and job losses in the long run.

Tariffs are a central plank of Mr. Trump’s economic agenda, so the ads touched a nerve. For months, the president has defended tariffs as a great way to create revenue, gain leverage over other countries and protect U.S. industries. 

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said Ontario’s ad uses “selective audio and video” to create the ad and “misrepresents” the former president’s remarks, though it did not elaborate. The ad seems to use different pieces of Reagan’s speech together but does not appear to alter his words.

The Reagan Foundation said it is exploring its legal options.

Mr. Trump, on social media, decried the ads as “fake” and said the Canadians were trying to influence the Supreme Court. The justices will hear oral argument on Nov. 5 in a case that argues Mr. Trump overstepped his powers by using a 1977 law to impose sweeping nation-by-nation tariffs.

“They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts,” Mr. Trump wrote.

It is unclear if Mr. Trump spoke to Mr. Carney before announcing his decision.

Mr. Carney said both sides had been making progress in trade talks that could benefit both nations.

“We stand ready to pick up on that progress and build on that progress when the Americans are ready to have those discussions,” Mr. Carney said as he departed Canada for meetings in Asia.

Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, took out the ad on Oct. 16 because he wanted to make the case against U.S. tariffs by using the words of Reagan, a hero to U.S. conservatives. The ad cost $75 million Canadian, or $53.3 million U.S., and aired in the U.S. during a playoff baseball game between the Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners.

Mr. Ford’s office said it didn’t do anything wrong.

“The commercial uses an unedited excerpt from one of President Reagan’s public addresses, which is available through public domain,” a spokesperson told CBC News in Canada.

In the original speech, Reagan said he imposed duties on Japanese semiconductors because foreign companies violated an agreement between the countries.

“We were just trying to deal with a particular problem, not begin a trade war,” Reagan said.

Yet Reagan spoke negatively about tariffs overall, saying U.S. companies tend to rely on trade protection and stop competing and innovating.

He also condemned the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, saying its tariffs and resulting trade wars exacerbated the Great Depression.