Trump rejects resuming Canada trade talks after ad dispute

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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Friday (Oct 31) flatly rejected any resumption of trade negotiations with Canada, one week after interrupting talks amid a dispute over an anti-tariff advertisement.

"I really like him a lot," the president said of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, as he addressed journalists aboard Air Force One. "But what they did was wrong."

Discussions will not resume, Trump said in response to a reporter's question, even though Carney "apologised for what they did with the commercial because it was a false commercial".

Trump last week called off negotiations over the advertisement aired by the Canadian province of Ontario, adding he was increasing tariffs on Canada by an additional 10 per cent.

The ad by the Ontario government featured former US President Ronald Reagan saying that tariffs on foreign goods would lead to trade wars and job losses. Reagan was known for his support of free markets and free trade.  

The US president nevertheless reiterated that he had a "good relationship" with Carney and that they had had a positive discussion on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea.

A few days earlier, at another summit in Malaysia, Carney had repeated that Canada was ready to resume trade negotiations with Washington.

The breakdown of talks represents a sudden reversal in relations between two historic allies that have been shaken by Trump's return to power.

Canada is the United States' second-largest trading partner and a major supplier of steel and aluminium to US companies.

The vast majority of cross-border trade remains exempt from tariffs due to the North American free trade agreement, but sectoral levies - particularly on steel, aluminium, and automobiles - have hit Canada hard, forcing job losses and squeezing businesses.

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