President Trump on Tuesday said his administration will increase planned steel and aluminum tariffs against Canada in response to an electricity surcharge the Ontario government imposed in the latest escalation of a growing trade war.
The Trump administration is set to impose across the board 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum on Wednesday, but Trump said he was directing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to increase the tariffs on Canadian imports of the metals from 25 percent to 50 percent.
The president threatened additional tariffs against Canada in the coming weeks, pointing to plans for his administration to impose reciprocal tariffs beginning April 2 on all countries with duties on U.S. products. Those included tariffs on cars, which Trump claimed would “essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada.”
The government of Ontario announced Monday it would apply a 25 percent surcharge starting Monday on electricity exports to three U.S. states in response to American tariffs on Canada. The surcharge will affect electricity sales for 1.5 million homes and businesses across Michigan, Minnesota and New York, the Ontario government said. In total, it could cost up to $400,000 per day.
Trump said on Truth Social he would declare a national emergency to alleviate the impacts of the surcharge.
He went on to reiterate his argument for Canada becoming the 51st state, something Canadian leaders of various political stripes have roundly rejected.
“The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State. This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear,” Trump wrote. “Canadians taxes will be very substantially reduced, they will be more secure, militarily and otherwise, than ever before, there would no longer be a Northern Border problem, and the greatest and most powerful nation in the World will be bigger, better and stronger than ever — And Canada will be a big part of that.”
“The artificial line of separation drawn many years ago will finally disappear, and we will have the safest and most beautiful Nation anywhere in the World — And your brilliant anthem, ‘O Canada,’ will continue to play, but now representing a GREAT and POWERFUL STATE within the greatest Nation that the World has ever seen!” he added.
Trump earlier this month announced 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, though he has announced one-month exemptions for car parts and other goods that fall under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) signed in 2020 during Trump’s first term.
The uncertainty around Trump’s tariff plans have led to a downturn in the stock market, and the president has not ruled out the possibility of a recession this year.
