On Tuesday, March 11, President Donald Trump doubled his planned tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports from Canada to 50%, in response to the decision of the province of Ontario to impose a 25% tariff on electricity exports to the United States, reports "Reuters", quoted by BTA.
Trump wrote in a post on his media platform Truth Social that he had instructed his commerce secretary to add an additional 25% tariff on metal products, which will take effect on Wednesday morning.
"Canada must also immediately repeal its anti-American farm tariffs of 250% to 390% on various American dairy products, which has long been considered outrageous. I will soon declare a national emergency for electricity in the affected area," Trump wrote.
He also threatened to "significantly increase" tariffs on cars coming to the U.S. on April 2nd, "unless other long-standing tariffs are removed by Canada."
In an X post sent after Trump's latest threat, Ontario Premier Doug Ford - whose government is raising the price of electricity it generates for parts of New York state, Michigan and Minnesota - said he would not back down until all of Trump's tariffs on Canadian imports to the U.S. are "removed forever".
The broader 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported into the U.S. from anywhere are set to take effect early Wednesday.
These tariffs would apply to millions of tons of steel and aluminum imported from Canada, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and other countries that used to enter the U.S. duty-free upon clearance.
Trump's over-focus on tariffs from His inauguration in January has shaken investor, consumer and business confidence in ways that economists increasingly worry could trigger a recession. A survey of small businesses on Tuesday showed sentiment weakening for a third straight month, completely undermining the boost in confidence since Trump’s election victory on Nov. 5.
A Reuters poll of economists last week showed risks to the Mexican, Canadian and U.S. economies were piling up as the chaotic implementation of U.S. tariffs created deep uncertainty for businesses and policymakers. The polls showed 70 of 74 economists surveyed in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico said the risk of a recession had increased, with risks to U.S. inflation also rising.