Oct 25, 2025 02:05 AM
(This post was last modified: Oct 25, 2025 02:19 AM by Magical Realist.)
"President Donald Trump said overnight that he was abruptly ending all trade negotiations with Canada because of a video advertisement from Ontario’s government that criticizes U.S. tariffs using the words and voice of former President Ronald Reagan.
Trump, in a Truth Social post announcing the termination of the talks, cited a statement from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute claiming that Ontario’s ad “misrepresents” what Reagan said in a 1987 address on tariffs.
“They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court,” wrote Trump, referring to a major pending case that threatens to cancel some of his biggest tariffs.
The Reagan foundation’s reaction has drawn criticism from some who say that the organization is itself twisting the former president’s clearly tariff-critical message.
“Incredible cynicism and betrayal of Reagan by his own foundation,” Dartmouth economics professor Paul Novosad said in an X post. “If anyone actually clicked through to listen to the real address, they would see he says exactly what the Ontario ad claims!”
The Canadian ad, unveiled in mid-October by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, uses as its entire narration a half-dozen snippets of audio from Reagan’s speech on free and fair trade delivered at Camp David, Maryland, on April 25, 1987.
In the speech, Reagan defends his administration’s decision to place tariffs on Japan in retaliation for the country’s alleged failure to enforce their trade agreement on semiconductors with the U.S. He goes on to defend free trade and explain his general opposition to tariffs, even while imposing them in “certain select cases.”
Ford defended the ad Friday morning, writing, “President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together.”
The Reagan Foundation’s statement encouraged people to watch an unedited video of the former president’s speech.
Transcripts of both the Canadian ad and Reagan’s 1987 remarks are below. The parts of his speech that were used in the ad are highlighted in the full speech transcript.
Ontario’s ad:
Reagan: 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.
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; businesses and industries shut down; and millions of people lose their jobs.
Throughout the world, there’s a growing 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.
Reagan’s 1987 speech:
My fellow Americans:
Prime Minister Nakasone of Japan will be visiting me here at the White House next week. It’s an important visit, because, while I expect to take up our relations with our good friend Japan, which overall remain excellent, recent disagreements between our two countries on the issue of trade will also be high on our agenda.
As perhaps you’ve heard, last week I placed new duties on some Japanese products in response to Japan’s inability to enforce their trade agreement with us on electronic devices called semiconductors. Now, imposing such tariffs or trade barriers and restrictions of any kind are steps that I am loath to take. And in a moment I’ll mention the sound economic reasons for this: that over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer. But the Japanese semiconductors were a special case. We had clear evidence that Japanese companies were engaging in unfair trade practices that violated an agreement between Japan and the United States. We expect our trading partners to live up to their agreements. As I’ve often said: Our commitment to free trade is also a commitment to fair trade.
But you know, in imposing these tariffs, we were just trying to deal with a particular problem, not begin a trade war. So, next week I’ll be giving Prime Minister Nakasone this same message: We want to continue to work cooperatively on trade problems, and want very much to lift these trade restrictions as soon as evidence permits. We want to do this, because we feel both Japan and the United States have an obligation to promote the prosperity and economic development that only free trade can bring.
Now, that message of free trade is one I conveyed to Canada’s leaders a few weeks ago, and it was warmly received there. Indeed, throughout the world, there’s a growing realization that the way to prosperity for all nations is rejecting protectionist legislation and promoting fair and free competition. Now, there are sound historical reasons for this. For those of us who lived through the Great Depression, the memory of the suffering it caused is deep and searing. And today, many economic analysts and historians argue that high tariff legislation passed back in that period, called the Smoot-Hawley tariff, greatly deepened the depression and prevented economic recovery.
You see, at first, 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. What eventually occurs is: First, homegrown industries start relying on government protection in the form of high tariffs. They stop competing and stop making the innovative management and technological changes they need to succeed in world markets. And then, while all this is going on, something even worse occurs. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. The result is more and more tariffs, higher and higher trade barriers, and less and less competition. So, soon, because of the prices made artificially high by tariffs that subsidize inefficiency and poor management, people stop buying. Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse; businesses and industries shut down; and millions of people lose their jobs.
The memory of all this occurring back in the ’30s made me determined when I came to Washington to spare the American people the protectionist legislation that destroys prosperity. Now, it hasn’t always been easy. There are those in the Congress, just as there were back in the ’30s, who want to go for the quick political advantage, who will risk America’s prosperity for the sake of a short-term appeal to some special interest group, who forget that more than 5 million American jobs are directly tied to the foreign export business and additional millions are tied to imports. Well, I’ve never forgotten those jobs. And on trade issues, by and large, we’ve done well. In certain select cases, like the Japanese semiconductors, we’ve taken steps to stop unfair practices against American products, but we’ve still maintained our basic, long-term commitment to free trade and economic growth.
So, with my meeting with Prime Minister Nakasone and the Venice economic summit coming up, it’s terribly important not to restrict a president’s options in such trade dealings with foreign governments. Unfortunately, some in the Congress are trying to do exactly that. I’ll keep you informed on this dangerous legislation, because it’s just another form of protectionism and I may need your help to stop it. Remember, America’s jobs, and growth, are at stake.
Until next week, thanks for listening, and God bless you."
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/24/trump-ca...trade.html
Trump, in a Truth Social post announcing the termination of the talks, cited a statement from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute claiming that Ontario’s ad “misrepresents” what Reagan said in a 1987 address on tariffs.
“They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court,” wrote Trump, referring to a major pending case that threatens to cancel some of his biggest tariffs.
The Reagan foundation’s reaction has drawn criticism from some who say that the organization is itself twisting the former president’s clearly tariff-critical message.
“Incredible cynicism and betrayal of Reagan by his own foundation,” Dartmouth economics professor Paul Novosad said in an X post. “If anyone actually clicked through to listen to the real address, they would see he says exactly what the Ontario ad claims!”
The Canadian ad, unveiled in mid-October by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, uses as its entire narration a half-dozen snippets of audio from Reagan’s speech on free and fair trade delivered at Camp David, Maryland, on April 25, 1987.
In the speech, Reagan defends his administration’s decision to place tariffs on Japan in retaliation for the country’s alleged failure to enforce their trade agreement on semiconductors with the U.S. He goes on to defend free trade and explain his general opposition to tariffs, even while imposing them in “certain select cases.”
Ford defended the ad Friday morning, writing, “President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together.”
The Reagan Foundation’s statement encouraged people to watch an unedited video of the former president’s speech.
Transcripts of both the Canadian ad and Reagan’s 1987 remarks are below. The parts of his speech that were used in the ad are highlighted in the full speech transcript.
Ontario’s ad:
Reagan: 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.
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; businesses and industries shut down; and millions of people lose their jobs.
Throughout the world, there’s a growing 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.
Reagan’s 1987 speech:
My fellow Americans:
Prime Minister Nakasone of Japan will be visiting me here at the White House next week. It’s an important visit, because, while I expect to take up our relations with our good friend Japan, which overall remain excellent, recent disagreements between our two countries on the issue of trade will also be high on our agenda.
As perhaps you’ve heard, last week I placed new duties on some Japanese products in response to Japan’s inability to enforce their trade agreement with us on electronic devices called semiconductors. Now, imposing such tariffs or trade barriers and restrictions of any kind are steps that I am loath to take. And in a moment I’ll mention the sound economic reasons for this: that over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer. But the Japanese semiconductors were a special case. We had clear evidence that Japanese companies were engaging in unfair trade practices that violated an agreement between Japan and the United States. We expect our trading partners to live up to their agreements. As I’ve often said: Our commitment to free trade is also a commitment to fair trade.
But you know, in imposing these tariffs, we were just trying to deal with a particular problem, not begin a trade war. So, next week I’ll be giving Prime Minister Nakasone this same message: We want to continue to work cooperatively on trade problems, and want very much to lift these trade restrictions as soon as evidence permits. We want to do this, because we feel both Japan and the United States have an obligation to promote the prosperity and economic development that only free trade can bring.
Now, that message of free trade is one I conveyed to Canada’s leaders a few weeks ago, and it was warmly received there. Indeed, throughout the world, there’s a growing realization that the way to prosperity for all nations is rejecting protectionist legislation and promoting fair and free competition. Now, there are sound historical reasons for this. For those of us who lived through the Great Depression, the memory of the suffering it caused is deep and searing. And today, many economic analysts and historians argue that high tariff legislation passed back in that period, called the Smoot-Hawley tariff, greatly deepened the depression and prevented economic recovery.
You see, at first, 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. What eventually occurs is: First, homegrown industries start relying on government protection in the form of high tariffs. They stop competing and stop making the innovative management and technological changes they need to succeed in world markets. And then, while all this is going on, something even worse occurs. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. The result is more and more tariffs, higher and higher trade barriers, and less and less competition. So, soon, because of the prices made artificially high by tariffs that subsidize inefficiency and poor management, people stop buying. Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse; businesses and industries shut down; and millions of people lose their jobs.
The memory of all this occurring back in the ’30s made me determined when I came to Washington to spare the American people the protectionist legislation that destroys prosperity. Now, it hasn’t always been easy. There are those in the Congress, just as there were back in the ’30s, who want to go for the quick political advantage, who will risk America’s prosperity for the sake of a short-term appeal to some special interest group, who forget that more than 5 million American jobs are directly tied to the foreign export business and additional millions are tied to imports. Well, I’ve never forgotten those jobs. And on trade issues, by and large, we’ve done well. In certain select cases, like the Japanese semiconductors, we’ve taken steps to stop unfair practices against American products, but we’ve still maintained our basic, long-term commitment to free trade and economic growth.
So, with my meeting with Prime Minister Nakasone and the Venice economic summit coming up, it’s terribly important not to restrict a president’s options in such trade dealings with foreign governments. Unfortunately, some in the Congress are trying to do exactly that. I’ll keep you informed on this dangerous legislation, because it’s just another form of protectionism and I may need your help to stop it. Remember, America’s jobs, and growth, are at stake.
Until next week, thanks for listening, and God bless you."
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/24/trump-ca...trade.html
