A breakdown of the latest
Good morning, I’m Sara Jabakhanji, and here is the latest on what has transpired overnight:
Late last night, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would be terminating all trade negotiations with Canada after an anti-tariff ad by the Ontario government was broadcast to American audiences.
Trump attacked the ad late Thursday as fraudulent and fake, without offering any evidence to support his claims.
“Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” he wrote Thursday.
In the ad, the late former U.S. president Ronald Reagan, a beloved figure among free-market Republicans, says: “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.”
“High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens. Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industry shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs,” the ad continues.
Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the White House just two weeks ago. Trump had directed two senior members of his cabinet to get a deal with Canada on steel, aluminum and energy.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute also took issue with the ad.
It said the ad misrepresented the Presidential Radio Address and that it is “reviewing its legal options in this matter.”
