Steel and aluminum tariffs go into effect

The tariff situation involving the U.S. and the rest of the world appears to change on a minute-by-minute basis. As of press time on Wednesday morning, the U.S. had applied 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to countries across the globe. Canada, as the major exporter of these metals to the U.S., was disproportionately affected and immediately announced that retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods entering Canada would go into effect on Thursday, March 13.

Separately, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the suspension of a 25 percent tariff on exports of electricity to the U.S. that he imposed earlier in the week following conversations that took place with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Ford will meet with Lutnick and other American officials on March 13 in Washington, D.C.

Ontario supplies a significant amount of electricity to Michigan, Minnesota and New York state, and Ford estimated that the tariff would add $100 to the average monthly bill for residents in those states. President Donald Trump previously announced that he would double the tariff on steel and aluminum to 50 percent, which he then walked back after Ford agreed to suspend the tariff for the time being. Ford has previously promised to cut power “with a smile” if the U.S. did not agree to end the tariff war.

According to the U.S. administration, the U.S. plans to institute unspecified tariffs on all agricultural products and all foreign cars on Wednesday, April 2.

On March 12, the Canadian government announced tariffs on nearly $30 billion worth of American products, including steel, aluminum, computers, sports equipment and more, in response to the new tariffs. LeBlanc described the new U.S. tariffs as “unjustified and unjustifiable” and said the Canadian government must respond to the “unfairly targeted” actions. The European Union also announced March 12 that it would impose tariffs totaling about $28 billion against U.S. goods in response, effective Monday, April 1.

The new Canadian tariffs are in addition to those imposed after the U.S. implemented tariffs on all Canadian exports that did not comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement that was negotiated during Trump’s first term in office. In all, Canada has applied 25 percent tariffs on approximately $60 billion of American products to date. Officials are reserving additional tariffs that will be levied against another $100 billion of U.S.-made goods if Trump makes good on his promise to impose “reciprocal” tariffs on all countries on April 2.

Trump is continuing taunts that Canada should become the U.S.’s 51st state and describing the border as “an artificial line of separation” that shouldn’t exist. Canadian foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly said, “It’s just not a threat to Canadian jobs, Canadian families. It is an existential threat to our country. This is not only a fight about the economy, it is about the future of our country.”

The backlash from ordinary Canadians has been extraordinary – travel across the U.S. border has dropped, and boycotts against U.S. goods have been growing. Liquor stores across the country have pulled booze from the U.S. from their shelves and placed signs exhorting shoppers to buy Canadian products instead.

In a scathing March 12 editorial, the Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal wrote, “The trouble with trade wars is that once they begin, they can quickly escalate and get out of control. All the more so when politicians are nearing an election campaign, as Canada now is. Or when Mr. Trump behaves as if his manhood is implicated because a foreign nation won’t take his nasty border taxes lying down.

We said from the beginning that this North American trade war is the dumbest in history, and we were being kind.”