(WASHINGTON) — A top Ontario official vowed to take down a negative TV advertisement about tariffs on Friday, just hours after President Donald Trump halted trade negotiation with Canada citing the ad.
“Ontario will pause its U.S. advertising campaign effective Monday so that trade talks can resume,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, noting the advertisement would air over the weekend during the Major League Baseball World Series.
“The people elected our government to protect Ontario—our workers, businesses, families and communities. That’s exactly what I’m doing,” Ford said.
On Friday morning, Trump claimed, without evidence, that the ad aimed to sway the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court case over the policy set to come before justices next month.
“TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump posted on his social media platform.
“Canada is trying to illegally influence the United States Supreme Court in one of the most important rulings in the history of our Country,” Trump said on Friday morning.
Trump did not specify which law Canada had allegedly broken.
The ad campaign in question was rolled out earlier this month by the Canadian province of Ontario. The ad features audio with excerpts of a 1987 address by then-President Ronald Reagan that came as he imposed some duties on Japanese products but cautioned about the long-term economic risks of high tariffs and the threat of a trade war.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called for a spirit of partnership between the two countries in a post on X early Friday.
“Canada and the United States are friends, neighbours and allies. President Ronald Reagan knew that we are stronger together. God bless Canada and God bless the United States,” Ford said.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute said in a statement on social media Thursday evening that the Canadian ad campaign used “selective audio and video” of Reagan and “misrepresents” what he said in the address.
Referring to the Canadian ad campaign, Trump said, “They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts.”
The Supreme Court is set to decide this term whether Trump’s sweeping global reciprocal tariffs are an illegal use of emergency authority granted by Congress — and whether tens of billions of dollars collected so far must be refunded.
Earlier this month, in a White House meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump signaled optimism about a potential U.S.-Canada trade deal, saying the two sides had “come a long way” in negotiations.
In July, Trump issued a 35% tariff on most goods and raw materials from Canada.
ABC News’ Brian Hartman contributed to this report.
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