March 19, 2025
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump 's threat Tuesday to double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% for Canada led the provincial government of Ontario to suspend its planned surcharges on electricity sold to the United States.
As a result, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the U.S. president pulled back on his doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs, even as the federal government still plans to place a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports starting Wednesday.
Trump shocked markets Tuesday morning, saying the increase of the tariffs set to take effect Wednesday was a response to the 25% price hike that Ontario put on electricity sold to the United States.
“I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an ADDITIONAL 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,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday afternoon that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called him, and Ford agreed to remove the surcharge. He said he was confident that the U.S. president would also stand down on his own plans for 50% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.
“He has to bounce it off the president, but I’m pretty confident he will pull back,” Ford said on Trump’s steel and aluminum tariff threat. “By no means are we just going to roll over. What we are going to do is have a constructive conversation.”
Trump suggested Tuesday that tariffs were critical for changing the U.S. economy.
The U.S. president has said that his separate 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada, some of which are suspended for a month, are about fentanyl smuggling and objections to Canada putting high taxes on dairy imports that penalize U.S. farmers.
Trump also has targeted Mexico with 25% tariffs because of his dissatisfaction over drug trafficking and illegal immigration, though he suspended the taxes on imports that are compliant with the 2020 USMCA trade pact for one month.
Asked if Mexico feared it could face the same 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum as Canada, President Claudia Sheinbaum, said, “No, we are respectful.”
Trump participated in a question-and-answer session Tuesday afternoon with the Business Roundtable, a trade association of CEOs that he wooed during the 2024 campaign with the promise of lower corporate tax rates for domestic manufacturers.
“The tariffs are having a tremendously positive impact — they will have, and they are having.” Trump told the gathering of CEOs, saying the import taxes would cause more factories to relocate to the United States.
