Trump Imposes 50% Tariffs On Canadian Steel, Aluminium After Ontario’s Electricity Surcharge
President Donald Trump has announced the decision of the U.S. to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium imports from March 12.
The move followed the decision by Canada’s largest province, Ontario, to impose a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to the United States in response to Trump’s earlier tariffs.
Ontario’s Premier, Doug Ford, addressing a press conference in Toronto on Monday, said the tariff takes effect immediately.
The tariff impacted 1.5 million Americans in Minnesota, New York, and Michigan, who rely on power from Canada’s most populous province
“If the United States escalates, I will not hesitate to shut the electricity off completely,” Ford warned.
“I feel terrible for the American people who didn’t start this trade war. This is on one person, President Trump.”
Ford said the move is part of Canada’s retaliation against U.S. tariffs, which have already targeted American products such as orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles, and certain paper products.
Though Trump had temporarily delayed some of his administration’s tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods for one month, Ford dismissed the reprieve as meaningless as it is uncertain what positive impact it would have.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, Trump said he has instructed the Secretary of Commerce to impose an additional 25 per cent tariff on Canada, driving the import duty to 50 per cent while accusing the country of being “one of the highest tariffing nations anywhere in the world.”
“This will go into effect tomorrow morning, March 12th,” Trump declared.
He announced a reprieve to the three states affected by the electricity tariffs and promised to further increase tariffs on cars imported into the United States on April 2.
He said, “Canada must immediately drop their anti-American farmer tariff of 250% to 390% on various U.S. dairy products, which has long been considered outrageous. I will shortly be declaring a national emergency on electricity within the threatened area.
“This will allow the U.S. to quickly do what has to be done to alleviate this abusive threat from Canada. If other egregious, long-term 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.
“Those cars can easily be made in the USA! Also, Canada pays very little for national security, relying on the United States for military protection. We are subsidising Canada to the tune of more than 200 billion dollars a year. WHY??? This cannot continue.
“The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty-First State. This would make all tariffs and everything else totally disappear.
“Canadians’ taxes will be very substantially reduced; they will be more secure, militarily and otherwise, than ever before; there will no longer be a Northern Border problem; and the greatest and most powerful nation in the World will be bigger, better and stronger than ever—and Canada will be a big part of that.
“The artificial line of separation drawn many years ago will finally disappear, and we will have the safest and most beautiful nation anywhere in the world—and your brilliant anthem, “O Canada,” will continue to play, but now representing a GREAT and POWERFUL STATE within the greatest nation that the world has ever seen!” Trump said.
Trump Imposes 50% Tariffs On Canadian Steel, Aluminium After Ontario’s Electricity Surcharge is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
