Even higher US tariffs against Canada off the table

Trade dispute

Even higher US tariffs against Canada off the table

The US President is outraged. The Canadian province of Ontario wants to put pressure on the neighboring US states with electricity prices. But this time it quickly succeeds in setting up the dispute.

A conflict between the Canadian province of Ontario and the USA is initially settled. Ontario had announced a 25 percent surcharge for electricity exports in several US states in the trade war with the United States. US President Donald Trump reacted indignantly and threatened in several posts with additional high tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada.

He had instructed his trade minister to raise tariffs of a further 25 percent of such imports from there, so that the total tariff from Wednesday morning was 50 percent, Trump wrote. In February he had launched tariffs for steel and aluminum imports of 25 percent, which should generally apply to imports from all other countries. Your entry into force is expected for Wednesday.

During the day, Minister of Commerce Howard Lutnick and the Ontario Prime Minister, Doug Ford, managed to defuse the pointed conflict. Lutnick and Ford had a productive conversation about the economic relationships, the Ministry said. Lutnick will meet Ford in Washington in Washington to talk about the USMCA free trade agreement. In return, Ontario agreed to suspend his 25 percent surcharge on electricity exports to Michigan, New York and Minnesota.

A spokeswoman for the White House told the German Press Agency that there would be no additional tariffs for Canada. Only the already announced tariffs of 25 percent on steel and aluminum for Canada and the other trading partners would come into force at midnight, without exceptions. President Trump once again used the power of the American economy to win a victory for the American people.

Trump argues that excessive steel and aluminum imports threatened the national security of the United States. He also accuses China of flooding the global market with cheap metal.

In the posting at Truth Social, the US President complained about the tariffs that he believed to be too high, which Canada raised and described the expenditure of the neighboring country for national security as too low. He again confirms his goal that Canada should become a state of the United States – a claim that has been triggering violent criticism and protests for weeks.