US President Donald Trump has announced that it will double planned tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum imports to 50%, and will expand the trade war with the US’s northern neighbors.
In a social media post Tuesday morning, Trump said tariffs would be increased in response to Ontario’s decision to charge a 25% extra charge on electricity exports to some US provinces.
“The only thing that makes sense is that Canada will become our precious 50 first states. This will create all the tariffs and all else will disappear forever,” Trump wrote in the Society of Truth.
Later that day, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he had temporarily suspended his electricity surcharge after discussing with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. The pair will meet in Washington, DC on Thursday.
Trump did not respond immediately to Ford’s announcement. Or they did not say whether the increase in tariffs on steel and aluminum will take effect as planned on Wednesday.
US-Canada relations plummeted amid his repeated threat of annexing the country, as Trump surged to impose sudden tariffs on various Canadian goods.
The US President said the tariffs that came into effect last week are part of the country’s efforts to balance trade relations. However, the Canadian government rejected the measure as “unjust” and announced retaliatory taxation.
Ontario Premier Ford announced Monday that his government will charge 25% extra charges for electricity exports to US states in Michigan, Minnesota and New York.
Ford, who holds a strong line against Trump’s economic policies, told reporters that Ontario’s electricity is output by 1.5 million American homes and businesses in the US province.
The surcharge would cost families and businesses $276,000 (CD$400,000) per day, the prime minister said.
“Let me be clear, I won’t hesitate to increase this fee. If necessary, if the US escalates, I won’t hesitate to shut down the electricity completely,” Ford said.
The Trump administration’s unpredictable tariff policies have fueled the anger and frustration in Canada over the past few weeks. Many Canadians are boycotting American products and asking governments to reduce economic dependence on the US.
Mark Carney, the new leader of Canada’s governing liberals and the country’s next prime minister, denounced Trump’s increased steel and aluminum tariffs on Tuesday as an “attack on Canadian workers, families and businesses.”
“My government, where my response will have the greatest impact on the US, ensure minimal impact in Canada and support workers’ impact, Carney, who will be sworn as prime minister in the coming days, writes on social media.
“My government will maintain tariffs until Americans show respect for us and show us a reliable and reliable commitment to free and fair dealing.”
President Trump’s latest tariffs are attacks on Canadian workers, families and businesses. My government will help our responses to the maximum impact on the US, ensure minimal impact in Canada and support workers.
My government will maintain our tariffs…
– Mark Jcarney (@markjcarney) March 11, 2025
The US stock market plunged this week amid uncertainty over Trump’s economic and trade policy.
Canada and the United States are major trading partners, and the US imported $412.7 billion from its north neighbours in 2024, according to the US Trade Representative. In the same year, the US exports to Canada totaled $349.4 billion.
According to data from S&P Global, Canada tops its list of foreign suppliers of both steel and aluminum, with imports of $19.5 billion last year.
“While steel represents a significant portion of the total US imports, the country is much more dependent on Canada’s aluminum to meet domestic demand,” the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said in a recent fact sheet.
He said tariffs on US steel and aluminum could lead to Canada’s unemployment, and retaliation measures by the Canadian government could raise consumer prices.
Despite concerns that a long-term trade war with Canada could raise prices for Americans and hurt the US economy, the Trump administration has defended tariff policies as needed to fill the trade deficit between the two countries.
In his Truthful Social Post Tuesday morning, Trump warned Canada that if tariffs on US goods were not dropped, his administration would increase mutual collections scheduled to come into effect in early April.
“Essentially, we’ll be closing Canadian auto manufacturing forever,” Trump said.
“These cars are easy to make in the US! Also, Canada pays little for national security and relies on the US for military protection. We subsidize Canada to more than $200 billion a year. Why??? This cannot be continued.”
Larry Summers, a veteran economist and former U.S. Treasury Secretary, has denounced the rise in tariffs as Trump.Still the worst trade policy.”
“To raise the price of the US manufacturing industry (which employs 10 million people) is what the US enemy does,” Summers writes in X.
“At the moment when the risk of a recession is rising, it is a self-harm scar to the US economy we cannot afford. ”