On October 23 (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his social networking service, Truth Social, that he was suspending trade negotiations with Canada.
President Trump cited a Canadian TV commercial that opposed his trade policies, including tariffs, as the reason for ending the negotiations.
He stated, "The Ronald Reagan Foundation just announced that Canada deceptively used an advertisement featuring former U.S. President Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs, which is a false advertisement," claiming that Canada released such commercials to influence decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts.
Recently, a U.S. court ruled that President Trump's imposition of reciprocal tariffs on countries around the world was illegal. The court determined that while the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which President Trump cited as the basis for reciprocal tariffs, grants the president authority to regulate imports, it does not allow the president to impose tariffs by executive order without congressional approval.
When the Trump administration appealed, the federal Supreme Court decided to expedite the case regarding the legality of reciprocal tariffs and set November 5 as the first hearing date.
On Truth Social, President Trump stated, "Tariffs are extremely important to America's national security and economy," and added, "Based on this vicious act by Canada, I am terminating all negotiations with Canada."
The commercial in question addresses the negative long-term impact of tariffs on the lives of Americans. It argues that imposing tariffs on imports may appear to be a patriotic action that protects American products and jobs and may have a temporary effect, but in the long run, it could harm American workers and consumers.
Overall, the commercial opposes U.S. tariffs and ends with footage of former President Reagan, making it appear as if Reagan himself made such statements.
This is the second time President Trump has announced the end of trade negotiations with Canada. Previously, in June, he declared the suspension of negotiations in response to Canada's decision to impose a digital services tax on U.S. tech companies. Canada later repealed the tax.
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