Featured Image Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Canada, Politics
Joe Yates
President Donald Trump has said he will double his planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium from 25 percent to 50 percent, escalating a trade war with his northern neighbor.
He said the increase in the tariffs set to take effect on Wednesday (March 12) is a response to the price rises the provincial government of Ontario put on electricity sold to the United States.
It comes after the president warned the US' northern neighbor that his administration will retaliate after the Ontario Premier established a major tax increase on electricity for neighboring American states.
Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social today (March 11): “I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.”
The US stock market promptly fell following the post.
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The trade war between the US and Canada is raging on, as President Donald Trump wasted no time in signing off on 'catastrophic' tariffs on its neighboring trading partners almost immediately after being sworn into office for his second term in January.
Trump accused Canada and Mexico of failing to stop a 'flow of illicit drugs' crossing US borders and cited immigration and trade deficits among his justification for the tax hikes.
Trump's Truth Social post continued: "This will go into effect TOMORROW MORNING, March 12th. Also, Canada must immediately drop their Anti-American Farmer Tariff of 250% to 390% on various U.S. dairy products, which has long been considered outrageous.
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"I will shortly be declaring a National Emergency on Electricity within the threatened area. This will allow the U.S to quickly do what has to be done to alleviate this abusive threat from Canada.
"If other egregious, long time Tariffs are not likewise dropped by Canada, I will substantially increase, on April 2nd, the Tariffs on Cars coming into the U.S. which will, essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada."
He went on to claim Canadian cars can 'easily be made in the USA', and that Canada pays 'very little for national security, relying on the United States for military protection'.
The 47th POTUS went on to push his administration's plans of incorporating Canada to become 'our cherished' 51st state.
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"This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear," he claimed.
It comes after the 78-year-old told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday (March 7), that Canada has been 'ripping us off for years' and was considering hitting back with a tariff 10 times harsher than the 25 percent already placed on Canadian products.
“Canada has been ripping us off for years on lumber and on dairy products,” he said, as he explained Canada hold tariffs as high as 241 percent on dairy coming in from the US - although taxes have never been paid out as high as that as it comes down to whether a quota is hit from US dairy exports.
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Canada does this to protect its domestic dairy industry - although US dairy farmers believe that they are being treated unfairly by the Canadian government.
Threatening to match those tariffs, Trump said on Friday (March 7): "We may do it as early as today, or we’ll wait until Monday or Tuesday.
"We’re going to charge the same thing. It’s not fair. It never has been fair, and they’ve treated our farmers badly.”