WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% for Canada, a retaliation that prompted the provincial government of Ontario to back down on its planned surcharges on electricity sold to the United States.
Tuesday’s escalation and retreat in the ongoing trade war between the United States and Canada only compounded the rising sense of uncertainty in terms of how Trump’s tariff hikes will play out. His spate of tax increases on imports and plans for more have roiled the stock market and stirred up recession risks.
Trump said on social media that the increase of the tariffs set to take effect on Wednesday is a response to the 25% price hike that Ontario put on electricity sold to 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,‘’ Trump posted on Truth Social.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Tuesday afternoon that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called him and Ford agreed to remove the surcharge. He said he was confident that the U.S. president would also stand down on his own plans for 50% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.
‘‘He has to bounce it off the president but I’m pretty confident he will pull back,‘’ Ford said on Trump’s steel and aluminum tariff threat. ‘’By no means are we just going to roll over. What we are going to do is have a constructive conversation.‘’
After a brutal stock market selloff on Monday and further jitters Tuesday, Trump faces increased pressure to show he has a solid plan to grow the economy. So far the president is doubling down on the tariffs he talked up repeatedly during the 2024 campaign and can point to Tuesday’s drama as evidence that taxes on imports are a valuable negotiating tool, even if they can generate turmoil in the stock market.
The U.S. president has given a variety of explanations for his antagonism of Canada, saying that his separate 25% tariffs are about fentanyl smuggling and voicing objections to Canada putting high taxes on dairy imports that penalize U.S. farmers. He also continued to call for Canada to become part of the United States as a solution, which has infuriated Canadian leaders.