US and Canada spar over ad of Reagan denouncing tariffs that led to derailed trade talks

"Marco Rubio confirmed on Friday that all trade negotiations with Canada had been suspended as Canadian authorities reposted on social media a five-minute excerpt of a 1987 speech by Ronald Reagan denouncing tariffs that has appeared to spark Donald Trump's ire. The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, whose government ran the Reagan ad in US markets this week, posted on X that the two nations are stronger together, while Trump added his own string of social media posts trumpeting the supposed benefits of tariffs."

"The Reagan Foundation said Thursday that the Ontario government's advertisement misrepresents Reagan's address, without elaborating how. It added that officials did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks and added that the organization was reviewing its legal options. It also encouraged people to watch the video of Reagan's speech on its YouTube channel."

"The breakdown in relationships apparently stems from a one-minute television advertisement featuring Reagan's radio address declaring that trade barriers hurt every American worker. Trump responded on Truth Social without evidence that Canada had somehow run a fraudulent and fake advertisement, and announced that all trade negotiations with Canada are hereby terminated. Rubio, the secretary of state, on Friday told reporters that Ford had aired commercials in the US which took President Reagan's words out of context, adding that the Reagan Foundation had criticized the effort, too."

U.S.-Canada trade negotiations were suspended after Ontario ran and reposted a Reagan advertisement that provoked a strong reaction from President Trump. Trump posted on social media calling the ad fraudulent and announced an immediate halt to trade talks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the suspension and said the ads took Reagan's words out of context. The Reagan Foundation stated the advertisement misrepresents Reagan's remarks, said permission to edit was not granted, and said it was reviewing legal options while encouraging viewing of the original speech. Ontario defended use of the excerpt as public content.

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