White House pulls back plan to double trade-war tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum

The White House late on Tuesday backed off its plan to double tariffs on all Canadian steel and aluminum exports into the United States, according to the Associated Press. That report cited White House trade adviser Peter Navarro as saying the decision was made after the provincial government of Ontario suspended its planned 25% surcharge on electricity sold to the United States.

Earlier on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said he would slap 50% tariffs on all Canadian steel and aluminum exports to the United States starting Wednesday morning. That would have doubled the previously threatened tariffs of 25%. The surprise increase was in response to the retaliatory 25% surcharge Canada originally planned to place on electricity the nation provides to U.S. residents, according to Trump’s post on Truth Social. Later on Tuesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford agreed to remove the surcharge on electricity after he said U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called him.

Trump rolled out the tariffs in a fiery social media post that accused Canada of being one of the highest tariffing countries in the world. He demanded that Canada drop tariffs on dairy products distributed by U.S. farmers. Additionally, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian automobiles beginning April 2. The president added that the United States would no longer continue its current spending levels to provide military protection to Canada. He repeated his invitation for Canada to become America’s 51st state, a move he said would eliminate the tariff issue.

What would happen if Canada stopped providing electricity to U.S. residents? Trump said he was prepared to declare a national emergency for areas affected by any withdrawal of utilities. He insisted such action would allow the United States to quickly respond to any outages.

How has Canada responded to Trump’s announcements? Mark Carney, the newly elected leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party, issued a statement Tuesday afternoon calling Trump’s tariffs an attack on Canadian workers, families, and businesses. He pledged to continue Canada’s ongoing tariffs, and to take further action that would impose maximum impact on the United States, with minimal impact in Canada. He said there would be no economic relief until U.S. consumers respect their northern neighbors and commit to free and fair trade. Carney has previously pledged to build a Canadian economy that is independent of the United States.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s story on Mark Carney’s election win.