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Canadian PM Mark Carney says apologised to Trump over anti-tariff ad featuring Ronald Reagan
Mark Carney also said that trade talks would resume with the US when the latter is "ready".
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Saturday (local time) that he apologised to United States President Donald Trump over an anti-tariff advertisement featuring former US President Ronald Reagan.
"I did apologise to the president. The President was offended," news agency AFP quoted Carney as saying in South Korea's Gyeongju where he attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
He also said that trade talks would resume with the US when the latter is "ready".
Carney also said that he had asked Ontario's Conservative premier Doug Ford, who commissioned the ad, to not go ahead with it. “It’s not something I would have done,” the Canadian PM said, reported Bloomberg.
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“I’m the one who is responsible in my role as prime minister for the relationship with the president of the United States…So things happen. We take the good with the bad, and I apologized,” he added.
The ad that irked Trump used a snippet of Ronald Reagan, who was a Republican, from an address he delivered in 1987 defending free trade. Miffed over it, Trump had announced that he was increasing tariffs on Canadian imports and also halted trade talks with the US' neighbour.
Earlier, Trump had also said that he received an apology from Carney, however, the US President did not indicate that he was keen on resuming trade talks with Canada.
When asked if trade talks with US' neighbour would restart, Trump had said, "No, but I have a very good relationship. I like him a lot, but you know, what they did was wrong. He was very nice. He apologized for what they did with the commercial.”
What is the advertisement about?
Doug Ford shared an anti-tariff advertisement in October which features former Republican US President Ronald Reagan's voice talking negatively about tariffs.
In the ad, Reagan is heard saying, “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 realisation 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," he concludes.
The campaign did not sit well with Trump, who terminated trade talks with Canada over it. He also called the ad “fake”.
“The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs,” Trump wrote in a heavily-worded post on Truth Social.
“Based on their egregious behaviour, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” he added.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation had also reacted to the ad and said that it used “selective audio and video”.
“The ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address (by Reagan in 1987), and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks,” a statement by the foundation said.
