All bets are now off in terms of where things stand on Canada-U.S. trade talks, and in particular what impact this might have on Canada’s auto industry and auto retailers.
There were recent rumblings out of Ottawa and Washington that trade deal breakthroughs were near on several fronts, but that was all sidelined yesterday by a single post by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform.
The post said: “TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A.” wrote Trump. “Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”
Trump clarified which behaviour sparked his ire with a follow up post Friday morning. It was a TV ad placed by the Ontario government that featured the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan narrating excerpts from a 1987 radio address in which he spoke out against the harmful impacts of tariffs on the American worker.
“They fraudulently took a big buy ad saying that Ronald Reagan did not like Tariffs, when actually he LOVED TARIFFS FOR OUR COUNTRY, AND ITS NATIONAL SECURITY. Canada has long cheated on Tariffs, charging our farmers as much as 400 [per cent]. Now they, and other countries, can’t take advantage of the U.S. any longer.”
According to the BBC, the TV ad was part of a $75 million media buy and that Ontario Premier Doug Ford, in a post to accompany the ad wrote: “We’ll never stop making the case against American tariffs on Canada.”
You can watch the Ontario government’s ad here.
In the ad Reagan narrates: “When someone says let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports, it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs, and sometimes for a short while it works, but only for a short time. But over the long-run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker, and consumer. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens. Markets shrink and collapse, business and industries shut down and millions of people lose their jobs. Throughout the world, there’s a greater realization that the way to prosperity for all nations is rejecting protectionist legislation and promoting fair and free competition. America’s jobs and growth are at stake.”
As of our press time, the federal government had not yet responded to Trump’s move.
