Ontario Premier Doug Ford voiced his surprise on CNN Thursday morning after the announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding a temporary pause on reciprocal tariffs, which did not include Canada. This bombshell came just a day after Trump made his declaration. His stated desire is to get a short-term market pop and use it to protect a base 10 percent tariff on virtually all foreign imports.
Ford underscored just how vital the trading relationship is between the United States and Canada. “And it’s true,” he said, “that each country is the other’s number one customer. He urged for both countries to address the bitter trade war. For them, restoring certainty for their citizens and markets is mission critical.
“The reality is a tariff on Canada is a tax on Americans, and that’s the last thing we want to see on the American people,” Ford noted, highlighting the interconnected nature of both economies. Read the full letter on this issue, where he expressed his concern of a billion-dollar industry relocating back to Ontario. This shift is largely influenced by the ongoing pressures from tariffs.
To save his economic face, Trump announced a 90-day pause on these reciprocal tariffs. The White House assured us that the current 25 percent tariffs on fentanyl precursors imported from China, and on cars, steel and aluminum imported from Canada, will still be around. Ford claimed that Trump “threw the first punch” in this descending economic showdown. He too expressed dismay over the lack of any continuing negotiations to repair the painful rift, often called the moat.
We were disappointed that we didn’t make it into the cohort [pause for dramatic effect],” he said. Ford appears prepared to pivot its approach. On Fox, Kelly claimed that they told him that Canada would remove their tariffs when President Trump does remove his.
He announced, “And we’ll remove our tariffs the day that President Trump removes his tariffs.” He reiterated the need for reciprocity and reliability in any future arrangements. Ford continued, “As long as we get the assurances that the tariffs are going to be dropped against Canada too. But we have to create that agreement between one another upfront. If they are confident enough to let us go first, we’re prepared to move forward, but we need a commitment that President Trump will remove the tariffs soon thereafter.”
In light of these developments, Ford indicated that Canada is taking proactive steps to bolster its own manufacturing capabilities. He emphasized that Canada imports about $6.5 billion of steel. The country lacks local production of steel beams. Now we’re going to go out there and begin manufacturing steel beams.” That was the promise.
