Canadian Leader Apologises for Political Advertisement
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the two countries will not be renegotiating the trade agreement. However, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney took time out to inform him about a provincial advertisement in Ontario that used former President Ronald Reagan and his talk on tariffs. “It was a very good thing but in my opinion, they did a bad thing,” Trump commented. “He apologised for what they did with the commercial because it was a false commercial.”
When reporters asked for his reaction to Trump’s remarks, Carney didn’t respond right away. Last week, in response to a local advertisement, Trump called off the negotiation of a trade deal in the province of Ontario. At the same time, he also announced that he would be raising tariffs on Canada by an additional 10 per cent over the existing ones.
Ontario Ad Used Reagan Talking About Tariffs
The ad by Ontario featured the speech of one of the greatest Republican heroes – Reagan – where he said that tariffs on foreign goods would lead to trade wars and eventually, people would lose their jobs. Reagan was one of the strongest advocates of free markets and free trade during his presidency in the 1980s. It is very clear from the ad that Trump was quite upset with the message that was conveyed and hence, he decided not to proceed with the trade negotiation.
Trump believes the ad to be untrue and that it should not have been produced in the first place. Although the Canadian prime minister has already apologised, Trump is not ready to come to the table to negotiate trade deals at this moment. The U.S.-Canada relationship has deteriorated due to the disagreements that have taken place over tariffs and trade.
Trade War Getting More Serious
Trump has slapped tariffs on a number of countries including Canada. In short, tariffs are taxes on imports. These tariffs, according to Trump, shield the American workers and businesses from foreign competition. However, other countries and a great number of economists argue that tariffs make life harder for everyone by increasing prices and causing trade wars to break which, in turn, escalates the shuffling of tariffs from one country to another.
Canada is one of the United States’ top trading partners. The 2 countries, linked by a lengthy border, transact several billion dollars worth of business annually. When trade talks come to a halt, companies, and workers on both sides of the border suffer the consequences. The Trump-imposed 10% extra tariff means that things made in Canada will be more expensive in the U.S., which in turn could be quite detrimental to Canadian firms that are seeking to expand their markets in the U.S. by selling them more products.
Key Points:
- Trump mentioned that the US and Canada were not going to restart their talks on tradeCanadian
- Prime Minister Mark Carney was apologetic about Ontario’s political adAn ad showing Ronald
- Reagan saying that tariffs result in trade wars and loss of jobs was the main feature
- Last week Trump put an end to the negotiations and added 10% more tariffs on Canada
- Trump said he likes Carney but thinks the commercial was wrong and false
FAQs
Q: What made Trump decide to cease trade talks with Canada?
A: A political advertisement from Ontario was the reason. The ad was using former President Ronald Reagan’s words to explain how tariffs are detrimental and ultimately lead to trade wars.
Q: Did the Canadian prime minister make an apology?
A: Yes. Mark Carney gave his apology to Trump for the commercial, however, Trump is not willing to restart trade talks.
Q: What did Trump do besides quitting talks?
A: On top of the current tariffs, he raised the tariff on Canada by an additional 10 per cent.
Q: What did the Ontario commercial consist of?
A: It revealed Ronald Reagan, the greatest Republican icon, is saying that tariffs on foreign goods will cause trade wars and eventually job losses.
Q: Will the US and Canada talk about trade again?
A: No. Currently, they have no plans for a talk. Trump said they would not restart trade talks even after Carney’s apology.
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