Featured Image Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty
Topics: Politics, Canada, Donald Trump
Joe Yates
President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency as Canada slapped US citizens with a major tax increase on electricity.
The trade war between the US and Canada is simmering over, as the 47th POTUS has retaliated to Premier of Ontario Doug Ford taking aim at the pockets of everyday Americans through a hefty hike to their electric bills.
The 78-year-old Republican has announced that he will double his planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium exports into the US from 25 percent to 50 percent from tomorrow (March 12), as well as 'substantially increase' tax on Canadian manufactured cars coming into the nation next month.
In response to Canada's own reprisals of the tariffs that the Trump administration placed on the nation, the president took to Truth Social to say he would declare a national emergency 'shortly'.
"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," he wrote today (March 11).
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The 'threatened' areas are New York, Minnesota, and Michigan - which Ford vowed to stop the flow of electricity to hundreds of thousands of Americans that rely on the Ontario-powered grids if Trump continues to 'escalate' the trade war.
At a press conference on Monday (March 10), Ford said: "We will apply maximum pressure to maximise our leverage.
"That's why today we're moving forward with a 25 percent surcharge on electricity exports.
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"For the 1.5 million American homes and businesses that Ontario powers, homes and businesses in Minnesota, Michigan and New York, this surcharge will cost families and businesses in these states up to $400,000 dollars each and every single day.
"On an average, this will add around $100 dollars per month to the bills of hardworking Americans."
It all began after the president signed an executive order in which Trump claimed Canada, Mexico and China pose an 'extraordinary threat' due to the number of 'illegal aliens and drugs' smuggled into the States, and even constituted it as a 'national emergency'.
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Following the order, the US' two neighbors were originally hit with 25 percent tax on all imports into the US, although they didn't come into effect until March 4, while China's initial 10 percent tariff was doubled by the Republican's administration due to China retaliating with its own high tariffs.
Trump's social media post continued: "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.