Trump calls Canada a ‘tariffs abuser,’ repeats threat of reciprocal tariffs

Published 11/03/2025, 05:22
© Reuters

Investing.com-- U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out against Canada on Monday evening, repeating his threats of reciprocal tariffs after Ontario imposed a surcharge on electricity exports to the U.S.

Trump said Canada was a “tariff abuser,” and that the U.S. was not going to be “subsidizing Canada” any longer.

“Because our Tariffs are reciprocal, we’ll just get it all back on April 2,” Trump said in a social media post, referring once again to his April 2 deadline to impose reciprocal tariffs on America’s biggest trading partners. 

Trump’s comment comes after Ontario- Canada’s most populous province- on Monday announced a 25% surcharge on electricity supplied to the U.S., claiming retaliation for Trump’s recent 25% tariffs against Canada.

Ontario Premiere Doug Ford said the tariffs would remain despite Trump’s move to allow another one-month reprieve on his 25% tariffs against Canada, stating that the relief meant nothing but more uncertainty. 

The new surcharge is in addition to Canada’s move to impose an initial C$30 billion ($21 billion) of tariffs on American goods. 

Trump’s recent round of tariffs are aimed at rectifying what he claims is an unfair standing for the U.S. in global trade. The President said on Monday that Canada charged tariffs of between 250% and 390% on many U.S. agricultural imports, and that his reciprocal tariffs will rectify this. 

Tariffs on Canada and Mexico are also motivated by Trump’s claims that the two countries need to do more to stem the flow of illegal immigrants and substances such as fentanyl into U.S. territory.

In his first seven weeks in office, Trump imposed tariffs on China, and also slapped duties on imports of steel, aluminum, and copper, which he claimed were to further domestic production of the materials. 

The U.S. President’s tariff agenda ramped up concerns over disruptions for the U.S. economy, which could in turn heavily dent growth. This notion sent global financial markets into a tailspin over the past two weeks.

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