Ontario fights back: New tariff on US electricity exports
Ontario will start adding a 25% export tariff on electricity sold to the United States, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Thursday. This is the province's response to the 25% tariffs imposed by the USA on imports from Canada, which were introduced on Tuesday.
Ford warned that if the US tariffs remain in place, Ontario may completely cease electricity sales to the USA as early as April and may also halt the export of nickel, which is crucial for the American military industry.
The Premier of Ontario accused Donald Trump of creating "mass chaos" in North America and called for a renegotiation of the CUSMA trade agreement. Ontario supplies electricity to 1.5 million customers in the states of Minnesota, New York, and Michigan. The provincial government has already informed the governors of these states of its decision.
Canada also responded to the US tariffs by imposing its own 25% tariffs on American exports. Additionally, individual provinces are taking their own measures—Ontario and Toronto are excluding American companies from public procurements, which amount to 30 billion CAD (21 billion USD) annually at the provincial level and constitute 10% of the city budget in Ontario's capital.
Tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada
On Tuesday, 25% tariffs came into effect on goods from Mexico and Canada (with an exception for Canadian energy, which is subject to a 10% rate). As of March 4, the USA also imposed an additional 10% tariff on products imported from China.
However, on Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced the postponement of the 25% tariffs on goods and services from Mexico covered by the USMCA trade agreement until April 2. He did not provide new information regarding Canada.
It should be recalled that the tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada were also formally introduced a month ago, but after talks with the leaders of these countries, Donald Trump decided to delay their implementation. A month has passed, and this week the tariffs began to take effect.
