Days after threatening to vowing to impose tariffs on electricity exports (or cutting off energy exports completely) to the United States, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Tuesday afternoon that Canada will suspend the 25% surcharge.
Tuesday’s announcement came on the heels of President Donald Trump threatening to impose a 50% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum imports if they did not back down.
Trending Politics reports:
Ford made the announcement in a joint statement with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, revealing that Ontario had agreed to lift the surcharge on electricity exports to Michigan, New York, and Minnesota. The statement also confirmed that Ford would meet with Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative officials in Washington on March 13 to discuss revisions to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) before the April 2 tariff deadline.
The swift reversal from Ontario follows a heated exchange between Trump and Canadian officials. Earlier in the day, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was imposing an additional 25% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum, bringing the total to 50%, in direct retaliation to Ontario’s electricity surcharge.
Trump also blasted Canada’s long-standing protectionist policies on U.S. dairy imports, calling them “outrageous” and demanding immediate action to eliminate tariffs ranging from 250% to 390% on various American agricultural products.
“If other egregious, long-time tariffs are not likewise dropped by Canada, I will substantially increase, on April 2nd, the tariffs on cars coming into the U.S., which will, essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada,” the president declared. “Those cars can easily be made in the USA!”
Trump also expressed concerns about national security and the United States relying on foreign energy. This prompted him to announce that he will soon declare a “National Emergency on Electricity” due to the “abusive threat from Canada.”
Funny enough, Ford claimed that Trump’s increase on steel and aluminum tariffs were an “unprovoked attack” on Canada…..says the same man who threatened to cut off electricity for millions of Americans.
“We will not back down. We will be relentless. I apologize to the American people that President Trump decided to have an unprovoked attack on our country, on families, on jobs. And it’s unacceptable,” Ford said during an MSNBC interview.
“You see the market tumbling. Consumer confidence is down,” he added. “And if he continues on with this, assembly plants in Michigan will shut down, and around the country, whoever makes autos, and as well as businesses, they’re going to hurt.”