Trump and Ontario Both Back Off Their High-Stakes Tariff Standoff
A meeting between Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is slated to take place on Thursday to further discuss the situation.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Tuesday that he would be suspending a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to the U.S. he had initially rolled out just a day prior, following “productive” conversations with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
In a joint statement, Lutnick and Ford disclosed they had a “productive conversation about the economic relationship between the United States and Canada” Tuesday and that the two agreed to meet on Thursday in Washington to further discuss “a renewed USMCA”—referencing a trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico negotiated during Trump’s first term. U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer is also slated to attend the meeting Thursday.
The furious back-and-forth comes ahead of President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff deadline on April 2.
In light of the conversation, the government of Ontario and Ford agreed to suspend the 25% surcharge the premier previously announced on Monday, which would have affected the states of New York, Minnesota, and Michigan.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford gives remarks at a press conference in Queen's Park on March 10, 2025 in Toronto, Canada.
Katherine KY Cheng/Getty Images
Trump initially retaliated against Ford’s surcharge Tuesday morning by announcing an additional 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports from Canada—adding up to a total of 50% with a previously announced tariff set to go into effect this week.
The president later rescinded the additional tariff following Ford and Lutnick’s conversation.
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White House trade adviser Peter Navarro clarified to CNBC that while Trump won’t be imposing the additional 25% tariff, the originally planned 25% tariff on steel and aluminum “will go into effect for Canada and all of our other trading partners at midnight” Wednesday.
The president intends to impose a 25% tariff on a host of other goods imported from Canada starting April 2, despite a free-falling stock market which saw the Nasdaq post its worst day since 2022 on Monday, with a 4 percent drop.
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