Last week, after the government of Ontario took out advertisements quoting former President Ronald Reagan speaking out against tariffs, President Donald Trump announced he was canceling trade talks with Canada. But before he canceled the talks, he took to Truth Social, posting on October 24 that Reagan “LOVED TARIFFS.”
Trump’s assertion that Reagan “loved tariffs” is false. The ad includes audio of a radio address Reagan made in 1987 in which he warned that trade barriers hurt Americans, lead to foreign retaliation and trade wars, and cause people to lose their jobs and businesses.
Trump’s reference to the Reagan Foundation “exposing this FRAUD” warrants an explanation. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute, which maintains the Reagan Presidential Library and a policy institute in Washington, D.C., did release a statement condemning the ad, saying it “misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address” and accused Ontario of not requesting permission to edit the remarks.
The ad did leave out Reagan’s purpose for the address, which came ahead of a visit by the Japanese prime minister to discuss tariffs. Reagan acknowledged in the address that he had put tariffs on semiconductors because Japan was not complying with a trade agreement. But very near the top of the speech, Reagan said, “Now, imposing such tariffs or trade barriers and restrictions of any kind are steps that I am loath to take.” But otherwise, the main alteration to the speech is the order of a few of the clips.
Aside from the speech itself, in which Reagan said, “over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer” and, “High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars,” the 40th president had a record of reducing barriers to free trade.
In 1986, Reagan initiated trade negotiations that paved the way for the creation of the World Trade Organization. Under the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the Uruguay Round that Reagan spanned seven years of formal and informal meetings, concluding in 1994 under President Bill Clinton with the establishment of the WTO.
In 1988, Reagan and Canadian Minister Brian Mulroney orchestrated the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement, which was later superseded by the North American Free Trade Agreement. Remarking on the passage of the act, Reagan stated, “This legislation reflects overwhelming support for the elimination of barriers to trade between the United States and Canada. It reflects the sound economic principles of free trade that benefit American businesses and workers.”
In addition to his 1987 radio address used in the Ontario ads, Reagan also delivered radio addresses on free trade in 1982 and 1988. Reagan famously kept a diary, and a December 1985 entry archived on the Reagan Foundation’s website notes, “Last night I vetoed the Trade Bill which was a protectionist attempt for textiles, shoes & copper. I called Strom Thurmond—author. He took it better than I thought he would.”
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