U.S. President Donald Trump said he is terminating trade negotiations with Canada because of television advertisements pushing back on his tariffs.
"Based on their egregious behaviour, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED," Trump posted on social media Thursday.
The Ontario government paid about $75 million for the ad campaign to air across multiple American television stations using audio and video of former president Ronald Reagan speaking about tariffs in 1987.
Earlier Thursday, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute posted on social media that Ontario's advertisements misrepresent the address. It said Ontario did not seek or receive permission to "use and edit the remarks."
It said the institute was reviewing legal options and encouraged people to watch the unedited video.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford's office said in a statement in response to the Reagan Foundation that the commercial uses an unedited excerpt from one of Reagan's public addresses, which is available through public domain.
"President Ronald Reagan knew and spoke directly to Americans that tariffs hurt the U.S. economy, workers and families," Ford's office said. "He was a strong supporter of free and fair trade between Canada and America."
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The Ontario advertisement caught Trump's attention earlier this week after it aired during the broadcast of the Toronto Blue Jays' win over the Seattle Mariners on Monday. The following day, Trump told reporters at the White House that he saw the advertisement, adding "if I was Canada I’d take that same ad also."
His change of tune on Thursday — halting talks and upending negotiations — comes amid a looming U.S. Supreme Court hearing over the future of his massive global tariff regime. America's top court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in November over whether Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, known as IEEPA, to hit most of the world with devastating duties is legal.
Citing fentanyl trafficking, Trump used national security powers under IEEPA to slap Canada with 35 per cent tariffs. Those duties don't apply to goods compliant under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade.
The Trump administration is also slamming Canadian industries with separate sector-specific duties on steel, aluminum, copper, automobiles and lumber.
Trump also used IEEPA for his so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs on nations around the world.
Trump said Thursday that Canada paid for the ads to "interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts."
It is likely to frustrate Canadian officials who were hopeful that the negotiations between the two countries had become more stable after Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House earlier this month, and Trump heaped praise on the prime minister and said he would be leaving Washington happy.
A deal between the two countries never materialized, but Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who has repeatedly cycled through the U.S. capital, said earlier this week that the two countries were making progress.
Carney told reporters Tuesday that there were ongoing discussions with the Trump administration but he "wouldn't overplay" any deals materializing in the next week.
The Prime Minister's Office has not yet responded to Trump's statement about terminating negotiations.
Carney and Trump are both set to travel to the APEC summit in South Korea. Carney has said he looks forward to seeing the president but would also be meeting with many other countries' leaders to talk about diversifying trade.
