Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared that Canadians “will not back down” as Donald Trump announced his plans to double the tariffs against Canada on steel and aluminium. In an interview with MSNBC, the 60-year-old apologised to Americans that their president launched an “unprovoked attack” on his country.
“We will not back down. We will be relentless. I apologize to the American people that President Trump decided to have an unprovoked attack on our country, on families, on jobs, and it’s unacceptable. Let’s work together. Let’s get to the table if he has issues, and let’s sort this out,” Ford said during Tuesday's interview.
Ford's scathing remarks came after Trump said in a Truth Social post on Tuesday that he has instructed the US Secretary of Commerce to “add an additional 25% tariff” on “all steel and aluminium coming into the United States from Canada.” The commander-in-chief slammed his neighbouring country as “one of the highest tariffing nations anywhere in the world.”
Trump added that the latest 50% tariff would come into effect on Wednesday morning if Canada does not pull back its surcharge affecting three US states - Minnesota, Michigan, and New York. Prior to the POTUS' decision to increase taxes on Canada came in the latest round of tariff war between the two nations, which saw Ford announce a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to the US.
{{/usCountry}}Trump added that the latest 50% tariff would come into effect on Wednesday morning if Canada does not pull back its surcharge affecting three US states - Minnesota, Michigan, and New York. Prior to the POTUS' decision to increase taxes on Canada came in the latest round of tariff war between the two nations, which saw Ford announce a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to the US.
{{/usCountry}}However, Ontario suspended the surcharge after Trump's threat to double the Canadian tariffs. In a statement shared on X, Ford announced that he had a “productive conversation” with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the two would meet in Washington on Thursday. The Ontario premier added that he would discuss a “renewed USMCA” with Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
“In response, Ontario agreed to suspend its 25 per cent surcharge on exports of electricity to Michigan, New York and Minnesota,” Ford and Lutnick said in their joint statement. During his MSNBC interview, the Canadian leader urged “the American people to speak up.” “We need the CEOs to actually get a backbone and stand in front of him and tell him that this is going to be a disaster,” he added, referring to Trump.
In another interview on WABC’s Cats & Cosby, just hours after he stood down in the tariff battle against Trump, Ford said, “I think that conversation between [myself and Lutnick] has saved millions of jobs on both sides of the border,” adding, “Our real enemy is China. It’s not each other.” “While we’re going back and forth with each other, China is building up their critical minerals and building up everything else. We have to keep an eye on China.”