Trump’s tariffs threat prompts Ontario to suspend electricity surcharge in response

The trade war between the United States and Canada heated up Tuesday as President Donald Trump says he will retaliate with higher tariffs on Canadian goods after Ontario said it would charge 25% more for the electricity provided to 1.5 million homes and businesses in the U.S. Elaine Thompson/AP file

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has agreed to suspend a 25% surcharge on electricity imports into the U.S. after talking with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

President Donald Trump had threatened to hike steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada by 50% and had posted on Truth Social Tuesday that steel and aluminum tariffs would go from 25% to 50% starting Wednesday in response to the province of Ontario placing a 25% tariff on electricity coming into the United States.

Trump also called on Canada to drop its duties on American dairy products and threatened to “substantially increase” tariffs on cars imported into the U.S. if Canada did not drop “other egregious, long time tariffs.”

He repeated his calls for Canada to become the “Fifty First State.”

“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 U.S. stock market promptly fell after his social media post, triggering more concerns following a brutal selloff on Monday. It puts pressure on Trump to show he has a legitimate plan to grow the economy instead of perhaps pushing it into a recession.

Trump refused to rule out a recession during an interview over the weekend and acknowledged his economic policy rollout is leading to disruptions. Asked during an interview on “Sunday Morning Futures” if he was expecting a recession this year, Trump responded, “I hate to predict things like that.”

“There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing, and there are always periods of, it takes a little time. It takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us,” he said.

Have a news tip? Contact Alexx Altman-Devilbiss at [e-mail].