DEAL OR NO DEAL: 200 DAYS OF TRUMP'S TARIFF WHIPLASHES

HE did it again. Just before midnight on Thursday, US President Donald J Trump took to Truth Social and declared in capital letters:

- SHANKKAR AIYAR

"All trade negotiations with Canada are hereby terminated." The reason: the province of Ontario in Canada put out a TV spot using a radio address by former US President Ronald Reagan where he argues against protectionism and says tariffs put jobs and growth at risk.

The next morning, Trump dubbed the ad a "fake", citing the Reagan Library. He said Reagan "loved tariffs". The TV spot pierced the soft underbelly of continental history. In October 1987, Reagan and Canadian PM Brian Mulroney signed a freetrade agreement and laid the foundation for what came to be known as NAFTA including Mexico. Trump's post amped up the reach of the TV spot that aired again on Friday night during the Blue Jays-LA Dodgers World Series baseball match.

It is true that the TV spot used poetic political licence to cherry-pick its message. Reagan did push through the Plaza Accord in September 1985 and got the G5-the UK, France, West Germany and Japan-to sell dollars to enable its depreciation and help US's export competitiveness. Reagan also imposed tariffs on Japanese semiconductors. But dubbing Reagan a lover of tariffs is a hard-sell given popular perceptions of the Cold War warrior. History shows that typically, US presidents wax in Jeffersonian words and act Hamiltonian.