Trump says he will double tariffs on steel and aluminum in retaliation for Ontario energy surcharge
Trump says he will double tariffs on steel and aluminum in retaliation for Ontario energy surcharge
Premier Doug Ford has agreed to suspend the 25 per cent surcharge on the electricity Ontario sends to the U.S. after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick offered an 'olive branch' and invited him to a meeting in Washington on Thursday.
I suppose he doesn't realise the huge energy input required, and which the US lacks, to produce aluminium.
They're not coming back, you doofus. It's not just a case of relocating manufacturing, you also would need to massively expand US baseload, and that is not happening. I mean, you cough in the direction of Texas and their entire grid collapses.
These are not protectionist tariffs. He's not trying to encourage US manufacturing.
He's trying to get other countries to bend the knee, and abandon their right to regulate their economy and their environment.
To paraphrase the old saying: Canada can remain independent longer than the US can remain solvent.
Tarrifs are definitionally protectionist, but i take your point about intention.
The whole strategy is a recipe for disaster. A recipe that contains no eggs, obviously, and is served in the form of a paste.
Huge demand for energy, you say? Sounds like just what Trump is looking for to help bring back the coal mining industry. Acid rain and mercury pollution for everyone will make America great again.
Bleak af
God, he's such a fucking idiot - in addition to the whole fascism thing of course.
When I image him crying on the toilet while he fat fingers out these tweets, I ask myself, 'Does this spark joy?'
Yes.
Oh hell yeah - the best kind of schadenfreude.
Can't control when he goes potty either.
I would say, fine, we'll get rid of the tariffs.
And the power.
Shut it off.
It’s like he’s trying to punch balloons.
Need auto companies to speak up for Canada instead of being quiet, even if they lobby WH quietly.
Cheaper electricity and steel/aluminum and $ in Ontario (due to less purchases from US) is a higher cost advantage for Ontario/Quebec to make cars. Making a strategic reserve of metals (at low price to keep Canadian employment in sector) is further opportunity to enhance manufacturing costs, and commitments to Canadian manufacturing that can be relied long term, and then later dump metal on US.
Much sooner, rather than not soon enough, better relations with the enemies US has programmed us to make enemies, is needed. Only coded references to Asian trade are referenced, but no high level diplomacy announcements.
Ok.
Man, it's like +11 Celsius right now! You guys enjoying the weather so far?
yeah it's nice out
The same tariffs that the auto makers in the US told him to undo otherwise they'd be in trouble... sounds clever.
Ford just backed down. Ford acts tough but he's a giant pussy.
Ontario has agreed to suspend its 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to the U.S., a joint statement from Premier Doug Ford and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick states.
He also is a mega Trump fan, the surcharges were performative theatre. He may have stuck with them, but we all know he was hoping he could weasel out of it somehow.
I agree to a point, he should have kept the 25% surcharge in place until he gets back from the shake down he is walking into down in DC.
He didn't, yet - he's meeting with Trump on Thursday.
I'm not defending him, but didn't spread BS until we know for sure he went limp dick on us.
Where are the Teamsters these days? I hear they don't like people messing with their livelihoods.
Meh. Remember how he made Mexico pay for the wall? But really it was the American public that paid for it? Ahahahaha. Orange insecure man.
I love how his response is to hurt America even more, lol, this guy is a goon. How embarassing for Americans.
I'm surprised he has that power. Taxes should come from congress.
Remember, all those tariffs are because of...
checks notes
fentanyl.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/03/trump-tariffs-legal-00202063
Less than 50 pounds of fentanyl. Almost 10000 pounds have entered into Canada from the US in 2024. So the orange rapist can fuck off all the way to fuckoffville and then fuck off some more.
That’s just cassus belli to violate CUSMA.
He only has those powers because he is claiming a natiotional security thing. Fentanyl is the big scary thing he thinks Canada is bringing into the US, when there are far more illegal things coming into Canada from the US. Guns and Drugs.
I feel like the assent from that parcel of rogues can be implied at this point.
It all comes together when you remember he's acting on orders from Putin to weaken his own country. Some of the first actions he took were to A) Stop helping Ukraine to take strain off Putin, and B) Start weakening the US economy by angering trade partners. Canada is the biggest trade partner of the US so naturally we got hit first and hardest.
But the US is the land of greed and maximum profit so they don't actually make much there any more. Canada has a healthy internal economy that just got a big boost from lowered inter-provincial trade barriers whereas the US does not do as much trade internally. They rely heavily on imports of goods and raw materials, especially from Canada.
Canada will hurt from this but we have materials and the world is full of customers, so we can adjust strategy and adapt. The US? They need to buy these materials and they just gave the middle finger to the entire rest of the world. The US will hurt so much more in the long run, and I'm sure that is entirely why Donald is doing this. Even if the US were to invade it still wouldn't fix their shattered economy as all trade with Canada would cease and they would have to find a way to obtain said materials and send them south all while fighting a multi-million strong resistance that would likely be assisted by foreign powers. All while their own economy would collapse and internal unrest might turn into civil revolt or even civil war. None of the states that border Canada are going to want a conflict on their soil and border cities are so close together that US citizens will suffer too.
There is no situation where the US walks away as a winner, but I'm sure that is exactly what Putin ordered. This is a highly planned attack on the US by itself, taking pressure off Russia and leaving the pacific open to China.
he’s acting on orders from Putin to weaken his own country
People need to stop believing liars repeating this meme. He is picking easier wars to win than the losing war on Russia. When you believe this tripe, that everything is for master Putin, you support stupidity and evil in retaliating vs Russia. Even if US and Russia become allies, any country isolating themselves as enemies of both, destroys itself. Infighting among colonies and Mexico has been the divisive success of Trump. Stupidly keeping the same enemies that are historically pure propaganda programing by US empire, is a loyalty to your enemy. Deprogram yourself from this garbage.
I'm sick of this dick measuring contest already.
I can hear the stock market tumbling from here
Price of energy increases for Americans. Trumps solution increase the price of aluminium for Americans.
That will show them.
More importantly he's initiating a state of emergency and threatening annexation again. Thats a dangerous combination.
Yay my electricity bill when Ontario matches.
#TrumpDidThat
Cool I can now have steel to build my robot.