In a recent exchange that underscores the volatile nature of international trade negotiations, Mark Carney has taken a pointed jab at Donald Trump following the abrupt cancellation of trade talks. The talks were derailed due to an advertisement that featured former President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs, a move that evidently ruffled Trump’s feathers.

The situation escalated last week when Trump imposed an additional 10 percent tariff on Canada and called off significant trade discussions. This decision came in the wake of the commercial, which aired during the first two games of the Baseball World Series, featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The advertisement in question leveraged a 1987 speech by Reagan, aiming to critique U.S. tariff policies, and it seems to have struck a nerve with Trump. As a result, the trade talk proceedings took a dramatic turn, catching many by surprise.

Addressing the incident at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, Carney commented on Trump’s reaction, saying, “It doesn’t pay to be upset. Emotions don’t carry you very far.” His remarks suggest a call for measured composure in the face of complex and high-stakes negotiations, which are often fraught with unexpected challenges.

Carney further noted that he had not communicated with Trump since the incident, implying that the onus was on the President to initiate any reconciliation efforts. This episode serves as a reminder of the delicate balance required in international trade discussions, where emotions must be tempered to achieve productive outcomes.

Carney said he had not spoken to the president since his blow up, noting it was up to Trump to reach out and mend the relationship.

The 60-second ad, part of a $53.5 million commercial by Ontario Premier Doug Ford pulls from a radio address made by Reagan as he explained why he was placing tariffs on Japanese electronics. In the ad, Reagan explains how tariffs can appear to be beneficial to Americans at first – but looks can be deceiving.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute has said the late president is being taken out of context. 

Ford said he would pull the ad after the weekend in an effort to smooth over tensions.

Mark Carney has delivered a sharp insult to Donald Trump after trade negotiations were canceled over an ad featuring former president Ronald Reagan slamming tariffs 

On Monday, Trump doubled down on his fury, revealing he had no plans to meet with Carney any time soon

But on Monday, Trump doubled down on his fury, revealing he had no plans to meet with Carney any time soon.

‘I don’t want to meet with him,’ he said.

‘No, I’m not going to be meeting with them for a while. I’m very happy with the deal we have right now with Canada. We’re going to let it ride.’

Trump reacted furiously to the ad in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, initially signaling that trade negotiations would be halted. 

‘The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs,’ he wrote. 

‘They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts. 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.’

By Saturday, Trump said he would raise tariffs by 10 percent after the ad was seen by millions of Americans on channels such as Fox News, Fox Sports, NBC, CBS, CNBC, ESPN, ABC and local affiliates.  

‘Canada was caught, red handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement on Ronald Reagan’s Speech on Tariffs,’ Trump wrote Saturday afternoon on Truth Social. 

‘Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.’

Trump canceled ongoing trade negotiations with Carney last week and hit Canada with an additional 10 percent tariff after he was upset by an advertisement which aired during the first two games of the baseball World Series

Trump also reiterated his theory that the Ontario government, led by Ford, ran the ad to illegally sway the opinions of the Supreme Court, which will decide next month if the Trump administration has the legal authority to implement sweeping global tariffs without the input of Congress. 

In the ad, Reagan says: ‘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. But over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American, worker and consumer.’ 

Reagan then explains: ‘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.’

Speaking about Trump’s spat at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia on Monday, Carney quipped: ‘It doesn’t pay to be upset. Emotions don’t carry you very far’

In response to the ad, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute said: ‘The ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks.’ 

The institute adds that it is ‘reviewing its legal options in this matter’ before linking people to the full address Reagan gave. 

Ford hoped to broadcast the ad on major television networks so that Americans could see negative effects tariffs would have against them. 

He claimed that the ad is ‘not nasty’ and ‘very factual,’ calling Reagan ‘the best president [America] has ever seen, in my opinion.’

Ford has now created a mess for Carney, who leads Canada’s left-leaning Liberal Party, Ford’s Conservatives’ biggest competition.

Canada’s economy has been hit hard by Trump’s tariffs, and Carney has been trying to work with Trump to lower them. 

More than three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the US and nearly $3.6 billion Canadian ($2.7 billion US) worth of goods and services cross the border daily. 

Many Canadian products have been hit with a 35 percent tariff, while steel and aluminum face rates of 50 percent. 

Energy products have a lower rate of 10 percent, while the vast majority of goods are covered by the US-Canada-Mexico Agreement, and are exempt from tariffs. 

Trump’s decision to suspend negotiations and increase tariffs sparked criticism from his opponents, including California Governor Gavin Newsom.

‘The man child in the Oval got his feelings hurt, so he is punishing the American people with higher costs,’ Newsom wrote on X alongside a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post.