A recent commercial from the Canadian province of Ontario has opened up new conversations. These conversations center around a landmark address given by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan back in 1987. His speech, titled “Free and Fair Trade,” underscored the urgent necessity for positive trade relations. This is particularly crucial in light of recent spikes in tensions with Japan. The ad uses clips from Reagan’s famous speech. In doing so, it has come under fire for whitewashing the controversial parts of his message, leading to widely publicized charges of misrepresentation.
In this speech from 1987, Reagan tackled the issue in the face of a bitter trade war with Japan. He was quick to point out that moving forward with tariffs would be destructive to the American economy. “Over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer,” he stated, highlighting the broader implications of protectionist policies.
The timing of Reagan’s address was key, as it was the culmination of a year’s worth of back and forth negotiations over Japanese tariffs on American goods. To counter these antagonistic trade moves, he’d produced tariffs to save American industry that had. He warned that making the decision would spark long-term repercussions. Reagan noted that protectionist measures like tariffs can seem patriotic. He cautioned that these moves typically elicit an equal and opposite reaction from other countries, igniting trade wars.
“High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars.” – Ronald Reagan
Reagan’s speech wasn’t only about the moral imperative but it was about the economic benefits of free trade. It was this message that he brought to the heart of Canadian leadership only weeks before his official address. Their warm reception made clear that they shared our strong commitment to open markets. The ad left out all the most important parts of Reagan’s speech. Most significantly, it removed his denunciation of members of Congress who voted against free trade.
The omission was immediately condemned from both sides of the aisle, including impeachment manager Rep. Former President Donald Trump in turn dubbed the advert “FAKE.” He followed that by stopping all trade discussions with Canada to make our international relations an even bigger mess. The backlash generated by the advert just goes to show how contentious the debate over North American trade policy remains.
Yet in his speech, Reagan did warn quite specifically about what would happen if tariffs were to be put in place. He painted a dark picture of a world in where protectionist policies would result in contracting markets, company bankruptcies and millions of lost jobs. “The consequence is one, two, three tariff increases, trade barriers go up, competition goes down,” he warned.
“Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse; businesses and industries shut down; and millions of people lose their jobs.” – Ronald Reagan
Critics of the advert have noted that Reagan’s largely pro-free trade message has been almost completely lost in the very selective quoting. The advert removes all important context. Therefore, it poses a danger of mischaracterizing his positions on tariffs and their harm to American workers and consumers. Reagan’s assertion that “imposing such tariffs or trade barriers and restrictions of any kind are steps that I am loath to take” reflects his belief in the necessity of open markets for economic prosperity.
Reagan’s 1987 address remains the touchstone for discussions today. Tariffs and trade agreements are hot-button issues in the economic discourse in both America and Canada. To say that leaders are facing a world uncertain in global trade relations would be an understatement. Otherwise they should heed the historical warnings associated with protectionist policies.
“Throughout the world, there’s a growing realization that the way to prosperity for all nations is rejecting protectionist legislation and promoting fair and free competition.” – Ronald Reagan