Trump steps up Canada trade war with threat of 50% metals tariffs

The looming trade war between the US and Canada escalated yesterday as Donald Trump threatened to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum after Canadian threats to raise electricity prices for US customers.

- Chris Michael Lauren Aratani New York

Trump announced plans to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50% and again threatened to annex Canada as retaliation for the province of Ontario's imposition of a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to several US states.

The news set off another stock market sell-off on Wall Street that was tempered when Ontario's premier, Doug Ford, said he had made a deal with the US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, to suspend Canada's 25% tariff on exports of electricity to Michigan, New York and Minnesota after Lutnick agreed to discuss renewing existing trade relations.

Incorrectly calling Canada "one of the highest tariffing nations anywhere in the world", Trump said in a social media post that he had instructed his secretary of commerce to increase the metals levies due to start today. He also threatened more tariffs from 2 April on the car industry that would "essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada".

Asking rhetorically why the US received electricity from another country, he accused Canada of using energy, "that so affects the life of innocent people, as a bargaining chip and threat". In another post on his Truth Social network, Trump wrote: "They will pay a financial price for this so big that it will be read about in History Books for many years."