- By Ajeet Kumar
- Tue, 11 Mar 2025 08:04 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled his planned tariff on all steel and aluminum products coming into the United States from Canada, bringing the total to 50 per cent, in response to the province of Ontario placing a 25 per cent tariff on electricity coming into the US.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he has instructed his commerce secretary to add an additional 25 per cent tariff on the products that will go into effect on Wednesday morning.
"Also, Canada must immediately drop their anti-American farmer Tariff of 250% to 390% on various US dairy products, which has long been considered outrageous. I will shortly be declaring a National Emergency on Electricity within the threatened area," Trump wrote.
He also threatened to "substantially increase" tariffs on cars coming into the United States on April 2 "if other egregious, long-time Tariffs are not likewise dropped by Canada."
US-Canada tariff war
The latest escalation occurred at a time when there is effectively a power vacuum in Ottawa. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is stepping down and is due to formally hand over power to his successor, Mark Carney, this week. Carney, who overwhelmingly won the leadership race of the ruling Liberals last weekend, told reporters on Monday he could not speak to Trump until he had formally been sworn in as prime minister.
Trump's broadside delivered another painful jolt to financial markets, with the benchmark S&P 500 index sliding more than 1.0% as investors worry the import taxes will hurt US growth and rekindle inflation.
Trump's hyperfocus on tariffs rattled investor
Trump's hyper-focus on tariffs since taking office in January has rattled investor, consumer and business confidence in ways that economists increasingly worry could cause a recession. A
small business survey on Tuesday showed sentiment weakening for a third straight month, fully eroding a confidence boost following Trump's November 5 election victory, and a survey of
households by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday showed consumers growing more pessimistic about their finances, inflation and the job market.
(With inputs from agencies)