Donald Trump doubled Canadian steel and aluminum duties from 25% to 50%, signaling a major uptick in the US-Canada trade conflict.
This action responds to Ontario’s 25% levy on electricity exports to several US states.
Trump said in a message posted on Truth Social on Tuesday, “Based on Ontario, Canada, placing a 25% Tariff on ‘Electricity’ coming into the United States, I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.”
Effective March 12th
Trump has once more threatened to make Canada the 51st US state when the tariffs go into force on Wednesday, March 12.
- The president of the United States has offered several justifications for his hostility towards Canada, including concerns about Canada’s high dairy import levies that penalize American farmers and claims that his separate 25% tariffs are related to fentanyl smuggling.
- However, he persisted in suggesting that joining the US was the answer, a tactic that has angered Canadian leaders.
- The White House is trying to minimize Wall Street’s worry about the most recent statement, which has raised fears of a recession in the US.
- The revelation has significantly impacted the US stock market, with the Nasdaq falling 4% on its worst day since September 2022.
With the Dow down 1.2% and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq following suit, the sell-off persisted into Tuesday morning.
What To Note
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded to Trump’s additional tariffs by saying, “We will be unrelenting. We require those CEOs to take a stand, confront him, and warn him that this will be a catastrophe. Right now, there is widespread anarchy.
- In retaliation to Trump’s tariffs, Ford has previously threatened to shut off the US’s energy supplies from Canada.
- In a subsequent social media tweet on Tuesday, the U.S. president denounced using energy “as a bargaining chip and threat,” stating that Canada “will pay a financial price for this so big that it will be read about in History Books for many years to come!”
Trump was scheduled to give a speech Tuesday afternoon to the Business Roundtable. He courted a group of CEOs during the 2024 campaign by promising lower corporate tax rates for American producers.
A significant tax increase would result from his tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, steel, aluminum, pharmaceutical medications, copper, lumber, and computer chips, with promises to impose more duties on Europe, Brazil, South Korea, and other countries.
