By Gavin Bade and Paul Vieira
The Trump administration rescinded a threat to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum after Ontario backed off imposing a surtax on U.S.-bound electricity, capping a rollercoaster day on Wall Street with investors rattled by uncertainty in trade policy.
“Pursuant to his previous executive orders, a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum with no exceptions or exemptions will go into effect for Canada and all of our other trading partners at midnight, March 12th,” said White House spokesperson Kush Desai.
Earlier in the day, President Trump threatened to double the tariff on the Canadian metals from 25% to 50% in response to the decision by the province of Ontario to impose a 25% export tax on electricity — itself a retaliation to earlier tariffs levied by Trump on Canada. Canada is the U.S.’s top supplier of foreign steel and aluminum.
But on Tuesday afternoon Ontario Premier Doug Ford held a call with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, during which they agreed to scrap the electricity surcharge in exchange for a relaxation of the steel and aluminum tariffs.
Additionally, Ford said he secured a meeting on Thursday with Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to discuss a path toward a renewed U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact ahead of Trump’s April 2 deadline to impose reciprocal tariffs on trading partners.
“I’m not out to hurt the American people,” Ford, the leader of Canada’s most-populous province, told reporters in Toronto. “Sometimes you have to play your cards, and this is one of the cards we played, and hopefully we’re going to have a very good constructive conversation.”
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