Old clip used to falsely claim Trump cut Canada trade talks
- Published on July 24, 2026 at 17:48
- 2 min read
- By Cintia NABI CABRAL, AFP France
- Translation and adaptation Gwen Roley, AFP Canada
In July 2026, the United States declined to renew the North American trade agreement with Mexico and Canada in its existing state. But social media posts claiming US-Canada negotiations were terminated entirely are false; the Fox News clip attached to the claims is outdated and references a since-resolved 2025 disagreement over a digital services tax.
"President Trump declares the U.S. will IMMEDIATELY END all trade talks with Canada after they moved to slap a Digital Services Tax on American tech companies," says a July 14, 2026 post sharing the video on X.
The clip shows a Fox News broadcast where anchor John Roberts reads aloud a Truth Social post from the president saying the United States was "hereby terminating all discussions on trade with Canada, effective immediately."
Different versions of the claim spread across X and Facebook, while also appearing in French.
Canada has distanced itself from its historic ally since Trump returned to the White House in 2025 and instigated a trade war driven by tariffs. In July 2026, Washington declined to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada trade pact, meaning the deal will now be reviewed annually, fueling uncertainty for businesses.
However, Trump did not declare an end of all negotiations with Canada as part of the announcement.
While the Canada-US relationship remained on the rocks in July, government officials have spoken repeatedly about ongoing trade talks between the two countries (archived here).
Furthermore, the clip used to back up the claims is outdated.
June 2025 dispute
A keyword search of Fact.base, an interactive database tracking the president's public remarks and social media activity, revealed that Roberts was referencing a Trump post on Truth Social that was real, but from June 27, 2025 (archived here).
In the publication, the president wrote: "We are hereby terminating ALL discussion on Trade with Canada, effective immediately."
Additional searches for Fox News programs saved by the Internet Archive's TV News Archive showed the broadcast also aired on June 27, 2025 (archived here).
The segment and Trump's Truth underscored the president's dissatisfaction with the Canadian digital services tax, a duty the country required of tech giants for operating in Canada (archived here).
Within days of Trump's announcement that he would be cutting off trade talks, Canada rescinded the tax and negotiations resumed (archived here).
Since the standoff, the two countries have navigated a succession of tariffs imposed by the president and retaliatory Canadian duties.
The back-and-forth has sparked numerous false claims fact-checked by AFP.
On July 20, 2026, Trump ordered more tariffs against Canada that were set to take effect within 30 days.
Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here.
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