Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he has apologized to US President Donald Trump for an anti-tariff ad that used a Ronald Reagan quote.
Last week, in response to the announcement, Trump suspended trade talks with Canada and said he would impose an additional 10% tariff on Canadian imports.
“I apologized to the president,” Carney told reporters at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea on Saturday.
The ad used a series of clips from former President Reagan's 1987 national radio speech in which he argued that tariffs would harm America's economy.
“Trade barriers like these hurt every American worker and consumer,” Reagan said in his speech.
Carney said the ad, which was funded by the province of Ontario, is “not something I would have done,” and added that Trump was “offended” by it.
On Friday, Trump said Carney had apologized to him and added that they had a “very good” relationship. But, he said, “what he did was wrong.”
Carney said Doug Ford, the Ontario premier in charge of the ad, showed him the clip beforehand and the premier advised him not to continue with the ad.
The commercial aired during the first two games of the World Series of Baseball between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ford said the TV spot had received “one billion views” and attention from as far away as the UK and India.
The commercial reportedly led to a “foul-mouthed tirade” between US envoy Piet Hoekstra and Ontario trade representative David Paterson.
Ford said Hoekstra made remarks that were “totally unacceptable” and said he needed to call Paterson and apologise.
Since taking office, Trump has imposed tariffs on a number of countries, including Canada.
The U.S. imposes a 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods, although most are exempt under the current free trade agreement. However, some sectors have separate tariffs, including 50% on steel and aluminum and 25% on cars.
Trump this week accused Canada of using the ads to interfere in an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case that will evaluate whether the president's tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China and dozens of other countries are legal.
