As Ontario hikes cost of electricity exports, Lutnick says more tariffs are coming
By Canadian Press on March 10, 2025.
WASHINGTON — Ontario placed a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to the United States on Monday as Canada braced for steel and aluminum duties the Trump administration is set to deploy on Wednesday.
“I feel terrible for the American people, because it’s not the American people who started this trade war,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday at a news conference called to announce electricity price increases for about 1.5 million homes in three U.S. states.
“It’s one person who’s responsible — that’s President Trump.”
Many Canadian leaders have vowed to push back against all U.S. tariff threats after President Donald Trump launched — and partly paused — a trade war with Canada and Mexico last week.
Turmoil in the markets continued Monday as Wall Street responded to the ongoing tariff uncertainty and Trump’s refusal to rule out a recession.
While U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that Trump will follow through on his plan to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., the billionaire financier added Trump’s most recent tariff threat — against Canada’s dairy and lumber exports — would not take effect until April.
“Canada is supposed to have a free-trade agreement with us — 250 per cent on dairy products. It’s outrageous,” Lutnick told NBC’s Meet the Press. “And you know the president is going to respond to it. But he’s agreed not to respond until April 2.”
Trump floated on Friday the idea of hitting Canadian lumber and dairy with “reciprocal” tariffs as soon as Monday or Tuesday.
The president’s team spent the weekend on U.S. TV news programs repeating the claim that Canada imposes 250 per cent dairy tariffs. They did not explain how dairy duties actually work or note that the U.S. also has industry-related tariffs of its own and a highly subsidized agricultural market.
Under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade, also called CUSMA, most importers don’t actually pay those high tariffs on Canadian dairy. Canada uses “tariff rate quotas,” which place a limit on the quantity of a product that can be imported at a lower tariff rate.
CUSMA was negotiated during the first Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. It is up for mandatory review next year.
One minute after midnight on March 4, the Trump administration imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on almost all Canadian and Mexican imports, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy.
On Thursday, after days of market chaos, Trump signed an executive order delaying those tariffs for goods that meet the rules-of-origin requirements under CUSMA.
Lutnick said those tariffs will be revisited next month.
Trump pushed ahead with those levies using the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) — a national security statute that gives him authority to control economic transactions — after he declared an emergency on fentanyl trafficking at the northern border.
Ottawa responded with a plan to boost border security but Canadian officials have said the Trump administration’s use of fentanyl to justify tariffs is farcical.
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, who has described relations with the Trump administration as a “psychodrama,” has said the president wants to weaken Canada through devastating duties.
“And once he has weakened us, possibly try to annex Canada. He has said this in the past,” Joly said last week.
Trump has repeatedly claimed he wants to make Canada a U.S. state.
When asked about the legitimacy of the tariffs Sunday, President Trump’s top economic adviser Kevin Hassett insisted Canada is a major source of fentanyl.
“I can tell you in the situation room I’ve seen photographs of fentanyl labs in Canada that the law enforcement folks were leaving alone,” the National Economic Council director told ABC News.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows only a small volume of fentanyl crosses illegally into the United States from Canada. It reports just 13.6 grams of fentanyl seized by northern Border Patrol staff in January.
The White House has not responded to a request for comment or information about the administration’s claims regarding Canada and fentanyl. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration — the federal agency tasked with combating illicit drug trafficking and distribution — has not responded to a request for information.
The department’s national drug threat assessment for 2024 does not mention Canada. It does mention Mexico, China and India.
— With files from Allison Jones in Toronto
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2025.
Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
30-29
“Canada is supposed to have a free-trade agreement with us — 250 per cent on dairy products. It’s outrageous,”
Mr. Lutnick, it was Donald Trump who signed the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade (CUSMA) when he was in office the last time.
He signed the agreement that included the dairy products! Canada never held a gun to his head and demanded he signed it. He signed in good faith!
There was give and take on all 3 sides of this agreement!
But I do not believe it is about free trade at all! You just want Canada to be the 51st state and think we are just going to lie down and surrender!
You want the resources, and do not care about the people of Canada or the US! You say you are a man of faith, but what faith? Even Satan knows the Bible better than any man and quoted it to Christ.
After watching you disrespected Presiden Zelenskyy because you wanted his valuable resources, with nothing in return, including security I doubt very much of you know what being a Christian is! Perhaps you are the Anti-Christ they speak of in the End of Times!
I have zero trust in you and believe that Israel is making a grave error putting their trust in you! I believe you have some other agenda planned for Israel and will turn on them as well!