President Trump says he is ending all trade negotiations with Canada over an ad campaign featuring a clip of former President Ronald Reagan denouncing tariffs.
Trump claims the ad is designed to sway the forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court arguments over his sweeping taxes on imports, although it’s not clear how it might have any impact on the justices.
“Tariffs are very important to the national security, and economy of the U.S.A.,” Trump wrote on his social media site. “Based on their egregious behavior, all trade negotiations with Canada are hereby terminated.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney Friday sought to brush off Trump’s threat and vowed to keep working to head off a spiraling tit-for-tat trade war between two of the world’s closest allies and trading partners.
“We stand ready to … build on that progress when the Americans are ready,” Carney said. “It will be to the benefit of workers in the United States, workers in Canada and families in both of our countries.”
Doug Ford, the premier of the Canadian province of Ontario, stood by the ad, which was produced by the province’s government and includes Reagan calling for free trade in a 1987 speech.
“Canada and the United States are friends, neighbours and allies,” Ford tweeted Friday. “President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together.”
Trump showed no signs of backing down either, charging that the ad twists Reagan’s words and his true stance on trade and tariffs.
“Actually (Reagan) loved tariffs for our country and its national security,” Trump posted.
Carney has recently sought to calm tensions with Trump but also aims to double his country’s exports to countries outside the U.S. because of the threat posed by Trump’s tariffs.
The theat to cut off negotiations could further inflame trade tensions that already have been building between the two neighboring countries for months.
The Supreme Court case mentioned by Trump is set for oral arguments next month. The conservative justices will mull the legality of the sweeping and unpredictable taxes on imports he has has imposed on a variety of nations, including some like Brazil with which the U.S. has a trade surplus.
Tariffs are taxes levied against companies that import goods from foreign nations. Economists say companies have no choice but to eventually pass on all taxes to consumers, although they may seek to delay price hikes to cushion the impact on sales.
Carney met with Trump earlier this month to try to ease trade tensions and the two leaders are expected to meet again at a forthcoming summit in Asia.
The two countries and Mexico are seeking to forge a new version of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Trump negotiated in his first term but now says is unfair to the U.S.
About $2.7 billion worth of goods and services are exchanged across the northern border daily.
