Ontario province to suspend 25% tariffs on electricity exports to US
Photo: Ontario Premier Doug Ford (flickr.com)
The Canadian province of Ontario will temporarily halt new tariffs on electricity exports to the US. This decision follows President Donald Trump's threat to raise tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel to 50%, according to CNN.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, after talks with US Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick, announced the temporary suspension of the 25% tariffs on electricity exports to three US states.
"Tit for tat, I’ve agreed to suspend temporarily, and we always have that tool in our tool kit until we sit down," Ford said.
However, when asked by journalists whether the tariff rollback was a victory for Trump, Ford denied it.
"I wouldn’t call it a win whatsoever, because we still have in our tool kit that we can use at any given time again," he emphasized.
Ford also told reporters he was "confident" that Trump would abandon the new tariffs on Canadian metals, though he added that he could not speak on behalf of the US side.
In a joint statement with Lutnick, Ford added that they "had a productive conversation about the economic relationship between the United States and Canada." He also stated his plans to meet with the US Trade Representative "to discuss a renewed USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) ahead of the April 2 reciprocal tariff deadline."
Tariffs war
Previously, Ford repeatedly threatened to cut off electricity exports from Ontario to the US if the Trump administration imposed new tariffs on Canadian goods.
Ford stated, that Canadians won’t hesitate and can just turn off lights as they need to make America feel the pain.
In response, Trump announced today that he had instructed his commerce secretary to add another 25% to tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports from Canada, bringing the total rate to 50%. According to him, this move is a direct response to Ontario’s 25% tariff on electricity exports to the US.
