Trump says imposing 50-percent tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminium

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he had ordered a doubling of the tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum in response to Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s imposition of a new tax on electricity supplied to three U.S. states.
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Ford’s action was itself a response to Trump’s earlier announcement of tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum, which is scheduled to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

“Based on Ontario, Canada, placing a 25% Tariff on ‘Electricity’ coming into 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. This will go into effect TOMORROW MORNING, March 12th,” the president posted on his social media site, Truth Social.

Despite Trump’s claim, Canada’s average tariff rate of 3.8 percent is little different from the United States’ 3.3 percent mark, according to a World Trade Organization database.

Trump also said without providing details that he would soon declare a “National Emergency on Electricity within the threatened area,” an apparent reference to portions of Minnesota, Michigan and New York, which depend upon Ontario for some electricity supplies. He issued separate demands for Canada to drop its existing tariffs on imports from the United States of agricultural products, and repeated his insistence that Canada “become our cherished Fifty First State.”

In an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday, Ontario’s premier called on Trump to “stop the chaos.” He has previously threatened to cut off Ontario’s electricity supplies to the United States if tariffs are not lifted. “We will not back down,” Ford said. “We will be relentless.”