Trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa are escalating. Donald Trump decided to halt trade negotiations with Canada due to an advertisement featuring Ronald Reagan's remarks about the harm of tariffs to Americans.
The President of the United States announced on Thursday that he is halting "all trade negotiations" with Canada. According to Donald Trump, he made this decision due to a television advertisement that contained "distorted facts" about American tariffs. The White House occupant called the actions of Canadian authorities "outrageous," accusing them of trying to pressure the courts of the United States.
The corresponding post on Trump's account on the social network Truth Social appeared after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that he intends to double exports to other countries in light of the threat posed by the tariff policy of the American president's administration.
According to media reports, Trump's outrage was triggered by an advertising campaign from the Canadian province of Ontario, which used audio and video clips from a speech by the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, from 1987. In these clips, he speaks about the harm of tariffs to American citizens.
Last week, Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, announced the launch of the campaign, stating: "Using all the tools at our disposal, we will never stop making the case against American tariffs on Canada. The path to prosperity lies through collaboration."
On Thursday, Trump wrote: "The Ronald Reagan Foundation just announced that Canada deceitfully used fake advertising in which Ronald Reagan speaks negatively about tariffs."
"The advertisement cost $75,000. They did this only to obstruct the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts," he wrote on his social media page.
"Tariffs are very important for national security and the economy of the United States. Based on their outrageous behavior, all trade negotiations with Canada are hereby permanently halted," he added.
On the same day, the Presidential Foundation and Institute of Ronald Reagan published a statement on the X website stating that the advertisement created by the Ontario government "distorts the content of the president's radio address to the nation on free and fair trade from April 25, 1987."
The statement adds that the provincial authorities did not receive permission from the foundation "to use and edit the remarks."
The foundation added that it "is considering legal options to address this issue" and invited those interested to view the unedited video recording of Reagan's address.
