A Republican President, Canada, and Tariffs: What Ronald Reagan Said and Did

If you're listening closely to the language currently being used by leaders of the United States and Canada about each other -- what a Republican president once said about the two countries might seem unfamiliar. The American people know that putting up walls around our country is a prescription for ruin, not renewal. What the world and the United States need now is more trade and more open trade. And that's why we've pushed for a new GATT round that includes the most ambitious multilateral trade negotiation agenda in history. That's why we've negotiated an historic trade agreement with Canada that will expand jobs, growth, and opportunity on both sides of the border. That was President Ronald Reagan … March 11th, 1988 .. speaking at the White House with business leaders .. The topic: the recently signed United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement. Against the backdrop of the current state of U.S.-Canada relations, the latest episode of C-SPAN's podcast "The Weekly" look back – to the 1980s … when the tone was different and the policies even more different still. What did President Reagan say about Canada? What were his trade policies toward our Northern neighbor? And what did President Reagan think about tariffs? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices