The roller coaster of tariffs in the trade war between the US and Canada has taken another twist. President Donald Trump says he won’t double the tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. This is after Ontario Premier Doug Ford pledged to suspend surcharges on electricity sold to New York and two other states.
The changes in this trade war are taking place at breakneck speed. On Monday, as promised, Ontario slapped a 25 percent surcharge on electricity sold to New York, Michigan, and Minnesota. By Tuesday morning, an angry Trump responded, saying the coming tariffs of 25 percent on Canadian steel and aluminum would be doubled to 50 percent. Premier Doug Ford says that later in the day, he received a phone call from U.S. commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and decided to temporarily suspend the electricity surcharge.
“You know with any negotiation that we have, there’s a point that both parties are heated, and the temperature needs to come down. And I thought that this was the right decision. They understand how serious we are about the electricity and tariffs. Rather than going back and forth and having threats to each other, we had both agreed to let cooler heads prevail. We need to sit down and move this forward,” Ford said.
But Ford says that without some kind of agreement, assembly lines will shut down in the US and Canada, the stock market will continue to tumble, and consumer confidence will plummet. The premier will meet with Lutnick and other trade officials in Washington on Thursday.
“I want to thank Secretary Lutnick for reaching out, putting out that olive branch. I’ve been in business a number of years, a lot of negotiations, and part of the last negotiation, when someone does that, you have to respect that person for putting out that olive branch,” Ford said.
Ford is also meeting with Prime Minister-Designate Mark Carney over breakfast this morning and with other provincial leaders during the day – as tariffs continue to be top of mind.