Sipu Jha
TOI correspondent from Washington: In an angry late-night social media post that caught even his closest aides off guard, US President Donald Trump announced the immediate termination of all trade negotiations with Canada, citing an advertising campaign by Ontario province that he branded a “fraudulent” attack on his tariff policies. The move, triggered by a Canadian ad featuring audio from Republican icon Ronald Reagan criticizing protectionism, threatens to unravel testy economic ties between the US and its northern neighbor just months ahead of a critical review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Trump is also heading out to Asia over the weekend for a three-leg trip that will take him to Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, in an effort to advance US interests. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is also expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Malaysia this weekend, amid reports that he will advance Canadian interests in the region amid tensions with Washington. In the midst of this snowballing global trade tensions, India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal also declared at a trade dialogue in Berlin that while New Delhi is still engaged with the US on trade, it “will not negotiate with a gun pointed at our heads,” adding that if tariff is inevitable, it will simply look for newer markets. Trump’s salvo ahead of his Asia trip came late on Thursday when he posted: “TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE USA. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”The post came hours after Ontario Premier Doug Ford promoted a $ 53 million TV and online ad campaign using a 1987 radio address by Reagan, in which the former president warned that tariffs “start trade wars” and lead to higher consumer prices and job losses in America. Trump accused the ad of deceptively editing Reagan’s words, ignoring a portion where the late former President acknowledged the president’s authority to impose targeted tariffs for national security. He also accused Canada of trying to influence a US Supreme Court hearing on tariffs early November. Not since the U.S and Canada locked horns in a bitter cricket match in New York 1845 – the first ever international game marked by betting scandals and umpiring infractions – has there been so much invective between the two sides. The Canadian ad, launched on October 16 and funded by Ontario’s government, aimed to rally US public opinion against Trump’s escalating tariffs on Canadian exports like steel, aluminum, autos, lumber, and energy—key sectors that account for over 75% of Canada’s $600 billion annual trade with the US “Using every tool we have, we’ll never stop making the case against American tariffs on Canada,” Ford, a feisty leader of Ontario who has gotten ahead of Ottawa in confronting Washington, said. Canadian PM Carney, who assumed office in March after a snap election, has not yet issued a formal statement, though his office confirmed late Thursday that he was “unaware” of the ad’s content prior to Trump’s outburst. Carney met with Trump at the White House twice this year—in July and again on October 7—to broker relief from the tariffs, which Trump hiked to as high as 35% in August. Those overtures yielded little progress, and Carney warned this week that he would seek to “double” Canada’s non-US exports amid the standoff.The trade spat is damaging to both countries. Canada’s economy, already reeling from a 2.1% contraction in the second quarter partly blamed on US duties, faces even steeper risks: potential job losses in export-heavy provinces like Ontario and Quebec could top 100,000, according to a recent Conference Board of Canada report.On the US side, implications ripple through battleground states. Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania—key to Trump’s 2024 reelection—rely heavily on cross-border auto trade, with over 2 million vehicles crossing the Detroit-Windsor bridge annually. Tariffs have already driven up vehicle prices by an average of $1,200, fueling voter frustration amid a government shutdown that has furloughed thousands of federal workers. “This isn’t just about steel or ads—it’s about families paying more at the pump and the dealership,” said Democrat Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, the state most affected by the spat, calling Trump’s move “reckless saber-rattling.”
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