Ford and Lutnick will meet in Washington on March 13 “to discuss a renewed USMCA ahead of the April 2 reciprocal tariff deadline.”
Ontario says it will suspend its 25 percent surcharge on exports of electricity to Michigan, New York, and Minnesota after Premier Doug Ford and United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick spoke and arranged another meeting in Washington this week.
A joint statement from Ford and Lutnick said they had “a productive conversation about the economic relationship between the United States and Canada” and would meet in Washington on March 13 “to discuss a renewed USMCA ahead of the April 2 reciprocal tariff deadline.”
“We’re going to be talking about the USMCA [United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement] moving forward,” Ford said at a March 11 press conference. “The worst thing that could happen is wait and let this drag out until April 2.”
The following is a previous version of the article. This is a developing story, updates will follow.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on March 11 he would not back down from his decision to put a 25 percent tax on electricity supplied to three U.S. states, after President Donald Trump vowed to double the tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum in response.
Ford moved ahead with his promise on March 10 to tax the electricity the province provides to New York, Michigan, and Minnesota as a response to the tariffs the U.S. president has enacted on Canadian products.
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Trump today said the United States will respond by adding an additional 25 percent onto the steel and aluminum tariff he imposed on Canada coming into force on March 12, boosting it to 50 percent.
In a March 11 Truth Social post, Trump said Ontario must remove the electricity surcharge or face the reciprocal tariff on steel and aluminum.
In a subsequent post, he said Ontario and Canada would “pay a financial price for this so big that it will be read about in History Books for many years to come!”
Ford told MSNBC in a March 11 interview that he has no intention of reversing his decision.
“We will not back down,” Ford said. “We will be relentless.”
Ford said he has not yet decided how to respond to Trump’s March 11 tariff escalation, but will be talking to his government about next steps.
“Fighting like this does not make sense, but I will respond appropriately on the electricity,” he said.
Ford held a press conference March 10 to announce the implementation of the electricity surcharge, indicating that the adjustment of the tariff—whether it will be decreased or increased—will depend on Trump’s actions in the coming weeks. He said there was also the possibility of shutting off the power completely.
The electricity tariff will be paid by utility providers in the three states, netting the province an estimated $300,000 to $400,000 per day, Ford said. The tax will add roughly $100 per month to the bills of 1.5 million American households and businesses.
In his social media post, Trump questioned why the United States is receiving power from another country.
“Why would our Country allow another Country to supply us with electricity, even for a small area?” he said. “Who made these decisions, and why? And can you imagine Canada stooping so low as to use ELECTRICITY, that so affects the life of innocent people, as a bargaining chip and threat?”
Trade War
Trump implemented 25 percent tariffs on items imported from Canada on March 4 with a lower rate of 10 percent on Canadian energy products, but announced March 5 the auto sector would receive a reprieve until April 2.
Trump issued another executive order on March 6, granting an exemption from the 25 percent tariffs for goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) until April 2. That impacts roughly 38 percent of the goods the U.S. imports from Canada.
Canada responded by implementing tariffs on CA$30 billion worth of U.S. exports to Canada last week, while Ontario has removed all American alcohol from its government-operated liquor stores and halted procurement opportunities for companies based in the United States.
Ford said he is concerned a drawn-out trade war will devastate the economies of both countries. He pointed to the “tumbling” stock market during his March 11 interview as evidence that an uncertain economic situation is bad for the United States and Canada and urged Trump to come to the negotiation table to forge a new trade deal.
“Let’s resolve it,” Ford said. “Let’s sit down across the table and let’s work this out.”
Ford also said a 50 percent tariff on steel and aluminum will be just as damaging to the United States as it is to Canada. The U.S. manufactures only 16 percent of the aluminum it needs, with the majority of the deficit being fulfilled by Quebec, he added.
“You need the aluminum. You need our high grade nickel. You need our electricity. You need the 4.3 million barrels of oil that gets shipped down,” Ford said. “I want to make sure we build an Am-Can fortress, the two greatest countries in the world.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also weighed in on the issue, calling Trump’s reciprocal 50 percent tariff threat on steel and aluminum “unjust.”
“These tariffs cannot in any way be justified and are yet another betrayal by the President of the long friendship between Canada and the United States,” Poilievre said in a March 11 statement.
Poilievre urged Ottawa to respond with 50 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported from the United States.
“Our message to the US administration must be clear, do not mistake our kindness for weakness, we are a strong, proud and sovereign country and we will fight back against these attacks against our economy and our workers,” he said. “And if the President applies further tariffs as he has threatened, we will hit back on those as well, we will not falter in defence of our country and these attacks will only harden our resolve.”
