Trump orders more tariffs on Canada after Ontario levies tax on electricity exports
Donald Trump has ordered an increase in tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum and threatened to impose more levies, after Ontario yesterday slapped a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to three US states.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump said he would “permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada” if the country did not end unspecified tariffs it had placed on US goods:
Based on Ontario, Canada, placing a 25% Tariff on “Electricity” coming into the United States, I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to ad an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. This will go into effect TOMORROW MORNING, March 12th. Also, Canada must immediately drop their Anti-American Farmer Tariff of 250% to 390% on various U.S. dairy products, which has long been considered outrageous. I will shortly be declaring a National Emergency on Electricity within the threatened area. This will allow the U.S to quickly do what has to be done to alleviate this abusive threat from Canada. If other egregious, long time Tariffs are not likewise dropped by Canada, I will substantially increase, on April 2nd, the Tariffs on Cars coming into the U.S. which will, essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada. Those cars can easily be made in the USA!
Ontario’s addition of a 25% electricity surcharge affects New York, Minnesota and Michigan, which receive electricity from the province. Here’s more about that:
Key events
In remarks on the Senate floor, Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer accused Republicans of laying the groundwork for cuts to social security and Medicare.
“Yesterday afternoon, Elon Musk confirmed what many of us have warning about for a long time – Republicans are getting ready to gut Social Security and Medicare,” Schumer said.
He noted that Musk, who heads the Donald Trump-sanction “department of government efficiency”, argued the cuts can be achieved solely by eliminating waste and fraud.
“That’s a pretext to slashing them, but it’s false,” Schumer said. He continued:
Mark my words: if Elon Musk and DOGE continue their attacks against Social Security – if the president continues his attacks, which he made in his State of the Union – sooner or later benefits are going to be delayed or mistakenly halted. And the political uproar from Americans across the country will be immense.
Republicans rush to clean up Musk’s comments on cutting social security, Medicare
Elon Musk last night mused about his desire to “eliminate” spending on federal entitlements such as social security and Medicare, prompting an effort by Republicans to downplay the possibility of cuts to the popular benefit programs.
The White House said that Musk was merely referring to “waste and fraud” in the programs, echoing a similar contention GOP lawmakers have made after proposing major cuts to Medicaid, another popular federal program that provides health insurance to poor and disabled Americans.
“The Trump Administration will not cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits,” the White House said.
Republican congressman Mark Alford, joined the effort, telling CNN:
Look, Elon Musk is a brainiac with an IQ that I cannot even fathom. He is not a master of artful language person, like politicians and news anchors. I think when he talks about elimination, I think we’re talking about eliminating the waste, abuse and fraud. And it is true that the Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security make up about 75% of our budget. It’s mandatory spending. We’ve got to find the savings there. We will do that … we are not going to eliminate Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
JD Vance has meanwhile arrived at the Capitol to shepherd through a short-term government funding bill that will prevent a shutdown from happening after Friday.
The GOP-controlled House will vote on the measure today, but their tiny majority makes its passage uncertain. Vance did not answer questions from reporters as he arrived at the Capitol.
Ontario premier says ‘Canada will not back down’ after Trump ups tariffs
Ontario premier Doug Ford has hit back at Donald Trump’s increase in tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum, writing on X that “Ontario and Canada will not back down until President Trump’s tariffs are gone for good.”
It’s the latest salvo in the intensifying trade conflict between the two nations, which Canada’s leaders have acknowledged could cause deep damage to their economy. Here’s more:
Wall Street, once again, appears displeased with Donald Trump’s imposition of further tariffs on Canada, and his vow to go even harder on America’s northern neighbor next month.
The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average is right now down 1.1%, or a drop of more than 400 from the open. The broad-based S&P 500 is also in the red by 0.8%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq has lost 0.6%.
Trump orders more tariffs on Canada after Ontario levies tax on electricity exports
Donald Trump has ordered an increase in tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum and threatened to impose more levies, after Ontario yesterday slapped a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to three US states.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump said he would “permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada” if the country did not end unspecified tariffs it had placed on US goods:
Based on Ontario, Canada, placing a 25% Tariff on “Electricity” coming into the United States, I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to ad an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. This will go into effect TOMORROW MORNING, March 12th. Also, Canada must immediately drop their Anti-American Farmer Tariff of 250% to 390% on various U.S. dairy products, which has long been considered outrageous. I will shortly be declaring a National Emergency on Electricity within the threatened area. This will allow the U.S to quickly do what has to be done to alleviate this abusive threat from Canada. If other egregious, long time Tariffs are not likewise dropped by Canada, I will substantially increase, on April 2nd, the Tariffs on Cars coming into the U.S. which will, essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada. Those cars can easily be made in the USA!
Ontario’s addition of a 25% electricity surcharge affects New York, Minnesota and Michigan, which receive electricity from the province. Here’s more about that:
Late last night (technically early this morning), Donald Trump made a show of support for Elon Musk, by saying he’d buy one of his Teslas.
The comment on Truth Social came amid a rough few days for Musk, after one of his rockets blew up and Tesla’s stock slumped 15%, it’s biggest fall in five years:
To Republicans, Conservatives, and all great Americans, Elon Musk is “putting it on the line” in order to help our Nation, and he is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! But the Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World’s great automakers, and Elon’s “baby,” in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for. They tried to do it to me at the 2024 Presidential Ballot Box, but how did that work out? In any event, I’m going to buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American. Why should he be punished for putting his tremendous skills to work in order to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN???
Musk signals desire to ‘eliminate’ spending on social security, Medicare
Elon Musk, who has been tasked by Donald Trump with making dramatic cuts to the federal government, said in an interview yesterday he was interested in taking aim at aid programs like social security, Medicare and Medicaid.
All three programs are considered entitlements, and are major drivers of the federal budget deficit, but also popular with voters. Social security provides retirement benefits, Medicare is health insurance for the elderly and Medicaid covers lower-income and disabled Americans.
In an interview with Fox Business Network, Musk said: “Most of the federal spending is entitlements. So that’s, like, the big one to eliminate. That’s sort of half-trillion, maybe $600, $700b a year.”
He also repeated unfounded theories that Democrats are protecting these programs because they attract undocumented immigrants: “This is why the Democrats are so upset about the situation … if we turn off this gigantic money magnet for illegal immigrants, then they will leave and they will lose voters.”
The comments from Musk come as his “department of government efficiency” has taken over the Social Security Administration and made claims of fraud that a former top official said are unfounded:
The rightwing House Freedom Caucus has in the past been an obstacle to the sorts of government funding bills Republicans hope to pass through the chamber today.
Not this time. The group announced its support on X late yesterday, saying:
This bill will reduce and then freeze spending for the next six months to allow President Trump and his Administration to continue their critical work within the Executive Branch to find and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.
It entirely kills the prospect of a budget busting, pork filled omnibus this fiscal year, and it breaks the longstanding practice in the Swamp of handcuffing increases in defense funding with increases to the non-defense bureaucracy.
Furthermore, it contains zero earmarks, makes major rescissions to the Internal Revenue Service and the so-called “Commerce slush fund,” and includes additional funding for immigration enforcement and deportation operations. Perhaps most importantly, it prevents Democrats from derailing the America First agenda with a go-nowhere government shutdown.
It wouldn’t be the House Republican Conference without some infighting, and indeed, they’re making good on that promise as they scramble to avert a government shutdown.
The latest squabble involves Thomas Massie, an eccentric GOP hardliner who often votes no on legislation he believes will increase the national debt. He’s declared his intention to vote against the government funding bill that will be considered today, prompting Donald Trump’s allies, and then the president himself, to call for someone to challenge him in next year’s primary. Here’s Trump making the call:
Congressman Thomas Massie, of beautiful Kentucky, is an automatic “NO” vote on just about everything, despite the fact that he has always voted for Continuing Resolutions in the past. HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him. He’s just another GRANDSTANDER, who’s too much trouble, and not worth the fight. He reminds me of Liz Chaney before her historic, record breaking fall (loss!). The people of Kentucky won’t stand for it, just watch. DO I HAVE ANY TAKERS???
Responding to attacks from former Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita, Massie had this to say about the primary threat:
Three times I’ve had a challenger who tried to be more MAGA than me. None busted 25% because my constituents prefer transparency and principles over blind allegiance.
Republicans to put government funding bill up for a vote in House
Republicans in the House of Representatives plan to put their bill to fund the government and prevent a shutdown that would begin Friday up for a vote in the closely divided chamber today.
Democrats are encouraging their members to vote no on the legislation, which would keep the government open until the end of September but also make a variety of spending cuts. The GOP thus needs unanimity to pass the legislation, as their margin in the chamber is so small they can’t afford a single defection. We’ll see if they have that.
Voting is currently expected to take place sometime after 1.30pm. Here’s more about the bill:
White House blames ‘animal spirits’ for Wall Street sell off
Donald Trump (and other presidents, to be fair) love to tout a healthy stock market, but there was little of that sentiment to be found on Wall Street yesterday. Major US stock indices fell significantly in the day’s trading, with traders pointing the finger at Trump’s imposition of tariffs on US trading partners and threats to levy more next month, all of which they fear will send the economy in a recession.
The trend may not necessarily continue – markets open in about an hour and a half, and futures are currently showing decent gains. But a big stock market sell off in the opening weeks of their new administration is something Trump wants to get ahead of. So a White House official had this to say yesterday about what caused it:
Want to emphasize that we’re seeing a strong divergence between animal spirits of the stock market and what we’re actually seeing unfold from businesses and business leaders, and the latter is obviously more meaningful than the former on what’s in store for the economy in the medium to long term.
Here’s more about yesterday’s jitters on Wall Street:
The UN human rights office said on Tuesday it has received termination notices from the US government for five of its projects, including its work in Iraq and Ukraine.
Ravina Shamdasani, UN human rights spokesperson, said the notices were for projects in Equatorial Guinea, Iraq, Ukraine and Colombia and also for a fund for Indigenous people.
US president Donald Trump is cutting billions of dollars in foreign aid programmes globally as part of a major spending overhaul by the world’s biggest aid donor.
