1) Canadian officials say meeting with U.S. commerce secretary was constructive

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kelly Geraldine Malone, March 13, 2025

Canadian officials said a Thursday meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was constructive and lowered temperatures amid the ongoing trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump last month — but they expected no immediate changes to punishing tariffs. 

“This was a constructive discussion,” said Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne in Washington. “We have our disagreements, but as long as you have dialogue you are making progress.”

Trump’s plans to massively realign global trade have thrown markets on both sides of the border into disarray and are forcing layoffs in some of Canada’s critical industries like steel production.

Champagne was joined by Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman and Ontario Premier Doug Ford for the meeting at the end of another roller-coaster week in trade relations between the two countries.

On Tuesday, Trump threatened to double steel and aluminum duties on Canada in response to Ford slapping a 25 per cent surcharge on the province’s electricity exports to three U.S. states. Before the end of that day, Ford backed off the surcharge and Trump backed down on doubling the steel and aluminum tariffs.

Trump went ahead Wednesday with an additional 25 per cent import tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., including from Canada.

Canada responded with 25 per cent tariffs on another $29.8 billion worth of American goods, which took effect just after midnight Thursday. Canada last week applied 25 per cent tariffs to $30 billion in U.S. goods in response to the first round of tariffs from the U.S.

“We’re like a family. Sometimes there’s tension between families,” Ford said Thursday in Washington at a separate news conference from the federal ministers. “But that was an extremely productive meeting.”

A news release from the U.S. Department of Commerce said the Canadian and American officials discussed the Trump administration’s “goal of fair trade with Canada and the province of Ontario, while working to secure America’s border and eliminate fentanyl.”

“Both countries recognized the strength and history of their relationship,” it said. 

Jamieson Greer, Trump’s recently confirmed United States trade representative, was also at the meeting. 

Champagne and LeBlanc were not clear whether much will change in the relationship between the two countries after Mark Carney replaces Justin Trudeau as prime minister Friday.

Champagne said he expects Carney and Trump to have a conversation in the coming days.

Trump and Trudeau have had a difficult and often tumultuous relationship. Trump has goaded Trudeau for months about Canada becoming the 51st state, referring to him repeatedly as “Governor Trudeau.”

The comments continued Wednesday as Trump met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Washington.

“To be honest with you, Canada only works as a state,” Trump sad.

Trump called the international border between the two countries an “artificial line” and said there’s no chance he’ll relent on tariffs.

“Now there will be a little disruption … it won’t be very long,” he said. “But they need us, and we really don’t need them … We have to do this. I’m sorry. We have to do this.”

That issue was front and centre Thursday as the man set to become America’s top diplomat in Ottawa took questions at his congressional confirmation hearing.

When asked about Trump’s repeated annexation threats during his Senate confirmation hearing, Pete Hoekstra said that “Canada is a sovereign state.”

When senators asked him whether a “joke” about annexation is ever appropriate, Hoekstra said he could not comment on the president’s relationship with Trudeau.

If confirmed, the former Michigan congressman will become ambassador at a fraught time in U.S.-Canada relations. 

Trump linked some tariff actions to the flow of deadly fentanyl but Canadian officials have said the president’s goal is to use economic force to annex Canada.

Hoekstra told the hearing Trump has a series of priorities for Canada, which include freer trade and fighting the flow of fentanyl.

New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen pushed back on Hoekstra, saying that the volume of fentanyl coming from Canada is minuscule and noting that Canada has one of the lowest tariff regimes.

Hoekstra later acknowledged “it’s not a huge amount” of fentanyl coming from Canada.

Shaheen’s state borders Canada and she said businesses there were operating according to the rules in the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, also called CUSMA, which was negotiated by Trump during his first administration.

Shaheen said she’s fielded calls from business owners whose orders from Canada were cancelled as a result of Trump’s tariffs and rhetoric.

2) Federal ministers, Ontario premier to meet with Lutnick as tariff fight continues

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kelly Geraldine Malone, March 13, 2025

Canadian officials are set to meet with the U.S. commerce secretary in Washington Thursday — days after a dust-up with U.S. President Donald Trump that ended with Ontario pausing its surcharge on electricity exports to the United States.

Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman and Ontario Premier Doug Ford are expected to meet with Howard Lutnick.

Ford has said his goal is to get a coherent sense of the Trump administration’s plans for tariffs. Ford said he expects to talk about the Canada-U.S.-Mexico-Agreement, also called CUSMA, and hopes to speed up a mandatory review of the trade pact set for next year. 

“I want to find out where their bar is set,” Ford told reporters Wednesday. “Rather than keep moving the goalpost, I want to find out how quickly you want to move forward and see what their requirements are.”

Trump expanded his global trade war on Wednesday by hitting every country, including Canada, with 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum.

The day before, Trump threatened to double those duties on Canada but backed down after Ford agreed to halt a surcharge on electricity that Ontario sells to three U.S. states.

Trump claimed a win against Ford repeatedly on Wednesday, calling the premier “some guy in Ontario.”

“I said, ‘This will be won in one hour,’ and (we) announced what we were going to do and they withdrew their little threat,” Trump said.

Canada responded to Trump’s steel and aluminum levies with 25 per cent tariffs on $29.8 billion worth of American goods, which took effect just after midnight Thursday.

Those duties focus on American steel and aluminum products but also include other items like smartphones, video game consoles and golf clubs. Spring and summer staples hit with Canadian tariffs include fishing gear and sleeping bags.

Champagne also directed Industry Canada to prioritize investments in projects that mostly use Canadian steel and aluminum.

“Canadian steel and aluminum form the basis of North America’s critical infrastructure and manufacturing base, while supporting vital U.S. industries, including defence, shipbuilding and automotive,” Champagne said in a statement.

“They are also essential for securing our collective energy future and generate high-quality jobs on both sides of the border.”

Elsewhere in the American capital, Trump’s choice for the next U.S ambassador to Canada is set to take questions Thursday as the relationship between the two countries is strained by tariffs and threats of annexation.

Pete Hoekstra, a former Michigan congressman, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for a nomination hearing.

— With files from David Baxter in Ottawa

3) (Updated) Canada to impose 25% tariffs on $29.8B in U.S. goods starting Thursday

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By David Baxter and Anja Karadeglija, March 12, 2025

The federal government will impose 25 per cent tariffs on U.S. goods worth $29.8 billion in retaliation for steel and aluminum tariffs the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump imposed today.

All countries, including Canada, were hit Wednesday with 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the United States — part of Trump’s attempts to realign global trade.

Canada’s dollar-for-dollar tariffs will take effect at 12:01 ET Thursday.

Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters Wednesday the tariffs are in addition to 25 per cent tariffs Canada imposed on $30 billion in imports from the United States earlier this month.

LeBlanc said the new Canadian levies target $12.6 billion in steel products and $3 billion in aluminum products. The counter-tariffs will also apply to other products, including computers, sports equipment and cast iron goods.

LeBlanc said the U.S. is “inserting disruption and disorder” into a successful trading partnership and is increasing the cost of everyday goods for both Canadians and Americans.

About a quarter of all steel used in the U.S. is imported and Canada is the United States’ largest source of both steel and aluminum.

Prime minister-designate Mark Carney, speaking at a separate event with steelworkers in Hamilton, Ont., said it’s a “difficult day” for the industry and the country.

He said proceeds from Canadian tariffs should go to support workers in the affected industries and promised to “double down” on partnerships between the federal government and industry.

Carney said he was ready to “sit down with President Trump at the appropriate time, under a position where there’s respect for Canadian sovereignty and we’re working for a common approach.”

On Tuesday, Trump said he had not yet spoken to Carney but is “always open” to leaders who want to talk.

The president has not responded directly to Canada’s latest counter tariffs. He has said that he will impose retaliatory tariffs on jurisdictions that impose fees on the U.S.

On Wednesday — one day after Ontario agreed to suspend a surcharge on electricity exports to several U.S. states after Trump threatened to double the metals tariffs — Trump cited what he called Ontario’s “little threat.”

“We had a problem with Ontario, and they dropped that when I let them know what we were going to be doing. They dropped it immediately,” Trump said.

“So I’m glad, because you shouldn’t be playing with electricity. It affects people’s lives, actually their life, depending on the weather. So we can’t let them do that.”

Speaking at Queen’s Park in Toronto on Wednesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he sees the suspension of electricity tariffs not as a loss but as a negotiating tactic.

The EU will be imposing its own retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump’s steel and aluminum charges, and the president said he will respond in kind.

The Trump administration has used tariffs in an attempt to push the auto sector to move production to the United States.

Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said his government would fight for Canada’s auto sector “every single day.”

“These companies, most of them, have long-standing commitments to this country. We’re going to make sure that they abide by the terms of every single agreement we have with them to make sure we protect the jobs,” Champagne said.

“Make no mistake that we are already on their backs, saying that we’re going to be watching like hawks.”

LeBlanc said the government learned Tuesday that the U.S. will also impose tariffs on “steel and aluminum content in certain derivative products.”

“The government is currently assessing this aspect, and may impose, of course, further tariffs in response to this measure as well,” he said.

4) (Updated) Ford talks to Carney, premiers ahead of trade meeting in Washington

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Allison Jones, March 12, 2025

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc suggested Wednesday they want to come out of a meeting with a top U.S. official with a “coherent plan” for the tariff road ahead.

The pair, along with Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, are set to meet Thursday in Washington, D.C., with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, who invited Ford on Tuesday amid a major ratcheting up — then down — of the trade war between the two countries.

The Canadian politicians said they hope for a cordial meeting that will take the temperature down, though it will come after Lutnick and U.S. President Donald Trump made comments referring to Ford as “some guy in Ontario” and his “little threat” to put a surcharge on electricity exports to the U.S.

“I said, ‘This will be won in one hour,’ and (we) announced what we were going to do and they withdrew their little threat,” Trump said Wednesday.

The U.S. has imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and aluminum imports effective Wednesday and the Canadian government announced tariffs on U.S. goods worth nearly $30 billion in retaliation.

Trump had threatened Tuesday to set the steel and aluminum tariff at 50 per cent in response to Ontario placing a surcharge on electricity it exports to three U.S. states, but both sides agreed to back off those moves after Lutnick offered the meeting.

Ford said he expects to talk about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement with Lutnick and hopes to move up a review of the USMCA set for next year.

“I want to make sure everyone understands the expectation is to go down there, build that relationship, talk about the USMCA,” he said Wednesday outside his office. 

“We aren’t walking away with the USMCA, but for years being in business, it’s all about building the relationship, understanding what they require, what our needs are, and move forward.”

Ford also said he wants an end to the frenetic tariff back-and-forth.

“I want to find out where their bar is set,” he said. “Rather than keep moving the goalpost, I want to find out how quickly you want to move forward and see what their requirements are.”

LeBlanc, however, said he does not see Thursday’s meeting as one about the USMCA. He hopes to talk about the tariffs that are in place now and others that are set to come into effect April 2.

“The conversation tomorrow will be around lowering the temperature and focusing on the process that President Trump set up where Secretary Lutnick has up to April 2 to determine a series of global tariff decisions,” he said.

But if one of the three parties to the USMCA wants to begin a review earlier than 2026, Canada is ready, LeBlanc said.

“We’ve always said the best approach is a coherent conversation that looks at all of these issues, where the three economies are part of the conversation, and where we can arrive at the best agreement for North America,” he said. 

“That’s been the success of previous conversations, but for the moment, it’s difficult to get there, because day over day, week over week, you have these decisions. So if we can sort of clear the underbrush and get to a position where we can get to April 2 with a coherent plan, I certainly think that would be the objective of the conversation tomorrow.”

Lutnick told Fox Business he expects to have a “nice conversation” with Ford to “lower the temperature” and will save the details for when Canada has a new prime minister after a possibly looming election.

“I think it’s just to level-set things, make sure we know each other,” Lutnick said. “And then we are going to negotiate with all of Canada, so obviously we are going to wait for there to be a new prime minister and then we’re going to talk.”

Those comments come after others Lutnick made the previous day to CBS, describing Trump’s threat to increase the steel and aluminum tariffs to 50 per cent as a tactic to “break some guy in Ontario” who put a surcharge on energy.

Ford brushed aside those remarks, saying the U.S. can call the end result a win if they want.

“Whatever,” he said. “They’re playing politics. (It’s neither) here nor there.”

The premier met Wednesday morning with prime minister-designate Mark Carney to discuss tariffs and free trade. The two had a productive discussion, agreeing on the need to stand firm in the face of Trump’s tariffs, Ford said.

Having Carney as the prime minister could help turn a page in the Canada-U.S. relationship, Ford predicted.

“It’s going to be a better relationship than with Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau and no disrespect to Prime Minister Trudeau, I can tell you one thing, Mark Carney (has an) extremely astute business mind,” he said. 

“He understands numbers, and so does President Trump and Secretary Lutnick. I think they’re going to get along very well. They both come from the same financial sectors.”

Ford, who is head of the group of Canada’s 13 premiers, also had a call Wednesday morning with the other provincial leaders. He said he would get advice from his counterparts ahead of the discussion.

5) (Updated) EU retaliates against Trump’s trade moves and hits beef, whiskey, motorcycles with targeted tariffs

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Lorne Cook And David Mchugh, March 12, 2025

The European Union on Wednesday announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products, responding within hours to the Trump administration’s increase in tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%.

The world’s biggest trading bloc was expecting the U.S. tariffs and prepared in advance, but the measures still place great strain on already tense trans-Atlantic relations. Only last month, Washington warned Europe that it would have to take care of its own security in the future.

The EU measures will cover goods from the United States worth around 26 billion euros ($28 billion), and not just steel and aluminum products, but also textiles, home appliances and agricultural goods. Motorcycles, bourbon, peanut butter and jeans will also be hit, as they were during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term.

The EU duties aim for pressure points in the U.S. while minimizing additional damage to Europe. EU officials have made clear that the tariffs — taxes on imports — are aimed at products made in Republican-held states, such as beef and poultry from Kansas and Nebraska and wood products from Alabama and Georgia. Yet the tariffs will also hit blue states such as Illinois, the No. 1 U.S. producer of soybeans, which is also on the list.

Spirits producers have in essence become collateral damage in the dispute over steel and aluminum. The EU move “is deeply disappointing and will severely undercut the successful efforts to rebuild U.S. spirits exports in EU countries,” said Chris Swonger, head of the Distilled Spirits Council. The EU is a major destination for U.S. whiskey, with exports surging 60% in the past three years after an earlier set of tariffs was suspended.

EU moves to protect itself

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement that the bloc “will always remain open to negotiation.”

“As the U.S. are applying tariffs worth 28 billion dollars, we are responding with countermeasures worth 26 billion euros,” she said. The commission manages trade and commercial conflicts on behalf of the 27 EU member countries.

“We firmly believe that in a world fraught with geopolitical and economic uncertainties, it is not in our common interest to burden our economies with tariffs,” von der Leyen said.

Trump said that his taxes would help create U.S. factory jobs, but von der Leyen said: “Jobs are at stake. Prices will go up. In Europe and in the United States.”

“We deeply regret this measure. Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and even worse for consumers. These tariffs are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy,” she said.

American business group urges talks

The American Chamber of Commerce to the EU said the U.S. tariffs and EU countermeasures “will only harm jobs, prosperity and security on both sides of the Atlantic.”

“The two sides must de-escalate and find a negotiated outcome urgently,” the chamber said Wednesday.

What will actually happen?

Trump slapped similar tariffs on EU steel and aluminum during his first term in office, which enraged European and other allies. The EU also imposed countermeasures in retaliation at the time, raising tariffs on U.S.-made motorcycles, bourbon, peanut butter and jeans, among other items.

This time, the EU action will involve two steps. First on April 1, the commission will reintroduce what it calls “rebalancing measures,” which the EU had from 2018 and 2020, but which were suspended under the Biden administration. Then on April 13 come the additional duties targeting 18 billion euros ($19.6 billion) in U.S. exports to the bloc.

EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič traveled to Washington last month in an effort to head off the tariffs, meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other top trade officials.

He said on Wednesday that it became clear during the trip “that the EU is not the problem.”

“I argued to avoid the unnecessary burden of measures and countermeasures, but you need a partner for that. You need both hands to clap,” Šefčovič told reporters at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

European steel companies brace for losses

The EU could lose up to 3.7 million tons of steel exports, according to the European steel association Eurofer. The U.S. is the second-biggest export market for EU steel producers, representing 16% of the total EU steel exports.

The EU estimates that annual trade volume between both sides stands at about $1.5 trillion, representing around 30% of global trade. While the bloc has a substantial export surplus in goods, it says that is partly offset by the U.S. surplus in the trade of services.

David McHugh reported from Frankfurt. Jill Lawless contributed to this report from London.

A previous version of this story was corrected to show that Maroš Šefčovič’s title to EU trade commissioner, not European Commission vice president.

6) Does Canada mistreat American importers?

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Christopher Reynolds, March 12, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump continues to single out Canada as a bad trading partner, claiming in a recent social media post that his northern neighbour is a “tariff abuser” that charges high rates on American goods.

The vast majority of U.S. products are not subject to any tariffs under the terms of the North American free trade pact signed by the president during his first term, though recent events have muddied those waters somewhat.

“Ninety-eight or 97 per cent of goods that come into Canada flow in tariff-free,” said Clifford Sosnow, who heads the Fasken law firm’s international trade and investment group.

Dairy and poultry products, as well as eggs, face steep tariffs once those imports reach a certain quantity under Canada’s supply management system. The so-called tariff rate quotas put a limit on the amount of a particular good that can be imported before a higher rate applies.

For example, Canada places a tariff of 7.5 per cent on many milk and cream products if they are “within access commitment,” meaning the items do not exceed an agreed-upon limit, according to the federal customs tariff schedule.

If an importer wants to go over that threshold, they face a tariff between 241 per cent and nearly 300 per cent.

In a post on Truth Social on Monday night, Trump called out the hefty duties on some farm goods, but falsely claimed that they reach 390 per cent. The steepest of them tops out at 313.5 per cent, according to the federal government’s tariff schedule.

“It’s a highly inaccurate description of the situation. It gives the reader the sense there’s this immediate wall where dairy product can’t come into Canada. And that’s not true. It can come into Canada at a significant amount that’s tariff-free,” said Sosnow.

The U.S. also has its own tariff rate quotas in place on commodities such as sugar, he noted.

“The president doesn’t mention that.”

Traditionally, an administration unsatisfied with a free trade deal might negotiate for a better one, as Trump did with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement signed in 2018. That deal replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement, which had been in place since the 1990s and had in turn updated the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement and its predecessor, the auto pact.

Dispute settlement processes baked into the CUSMA deal also allow for trade-rule tweaks. In 2023, a panel of experts ruled in Canada’s favour after American dairy farmers argued that Canada’s system of tariff-free dairy import permits blocks full access to the 3.5 per cent share of the Canadian market they thought they’d been granted under the revised pact.

Framing Canada as an abusive trading partner warps the nature of the two countries’ long history of rules-based commerce and friendly relations, Sosnow said.

Last week, Canada imposed a 25 per cent tariff on $30 billion worth of American items ranging from melons to motorcycles in response to Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports.

Most imports from the United States are also subject to Canada’s five per cent goods and services tax, while Canadian products face no such premium when they cross into the U.S. But that federal tax is meant to ensure American items don’t enjoy an edge over those made in Canada, which are likewise subject to GST.

The U.S. has no federal sales tax on consumer goods, American-made or otherwise.

7) (Updated) As Ontario hikes cost of electricity exports, Lutnick says more tariffs are coming

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kelly Geraldine Malone, March 10, 2025

Ontario placed a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to the United States on Monday as Canada braced for steel and aluminum duties the Trump administration is set to deploy on Wednesday.

“I feel terrible for the American people, because it’s not the American people who started this trade war,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday at a news conference called to announce electricity price increases for about 1.5 million homes in three U.S. states.

“It’s one person who’s responsible — that’s President Trump.”

Canadian leaders have vowed to push back against U.S. tariff threats after President Donald Trump launched — and partly paused — a trade war with Canada and Mexico last week.

Ford called on Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to reconsider her opposition to using oil and gas exports to retaliate against the tariffs. Smith quickly shot down the idea, calling it “self-destructive.”

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said provincial leaders are taking different approaches. Wilkinson said the federal government is not “interested in escalating this fight” with Washington.

Turmoil in the markets continued Monday as Wall Street responded to the ongoing tariff uncertainty and Trump’s refusal to rule out a recession.

While U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that Trump will follow through on his plan to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., the billionaire financier added Trump’s most recent tariff threat — against Canada’s dairy and lumber exports — would not take effect until April.

“Canada is supposed to have a free-trade agreement with us — 250 per cent on dairy products. It’s outrageous,” Lutnick told NBC’s Meet the Press. “And you know the president is going to respond to it. But he’s agreed not to respond until April 2.”

Trump floated on Friday the idea of hitting Canadian lumber and dairy with “reciprocal” tariffs as soon as Monday or Tuesday.

The president’s team spent the weekend on U.S. TV news programs repeating the claim that Canada imposes 250 per cent dairy tariffs. They did not explain how dairy duties actually work or note that the U.S. also has industry-related tariffs of its own and a highly subsidized agricultural market.

Under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade, also called CUSMA, most importers don’t actually pay those high tariffs on Canadian dairy. Canada uses “tariff rate quotas,” which place a limit on the quantity of a product that can be imported at a lower tariff rate.

CUSMA was negotiated during the first Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. It is up for mandatory review next year.

One minute after midnight on March 4, the Trump administration imposed tariffs of 25 per cent on almost all Canadian and Mexican imports, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy.

On Thursday, after days of market chaos, Trump signed an executive order delaying those tariffs for goods that meet the rules-of-origin requirements under CUSMA. In response, Canada paused its second wave of retaliatory tariffs.

Trump pushed ahead with those levies using the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) — a national security statute that gives him authority to control economic transactions — after he declared an emergency on fentanyl trafficking at the northern border.

Ottawa responded with a plan to boost border security but Canadian officials have said the Trump administration’s use of fentanyl to justify tariffs is farcical.

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, who has described relations with the Trump administration as a “psychodrama,” has said the president wants to weaken Canada through devastating duties.

“And once he has weakened us, possibly try to annex Canada,” Joly said last week.

Trump has repeatedly claimed he wants to make Canada a U.S. state.

When asked about the legitimacy of the tariffs Sunday, President Trump’s top economic adviser Kevin Hassett insisted Canada is a major source of fentanyl.

“I can tell you in the situation room I’ve seen photographs of fentanyl labs in Canada that the law enforcement folks were leaving alone,” the National Economic Council director told ABC News.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows only a small volume of fentanyl crosses illegally into the United States from Canada. It reports just 13.6 grams of fentanyl seized by northern Border Patrol staff in January.

The White House has not responded to a request for comment or information about the administration’s claims regarding Canada and fentanyl. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration — the federal agency tasked with combating illicit drug trafficking and distribution — has not responded to a request for information.

The department’s national drug threat assessment for 2024 does not mention Canada. It does mention Mexico, China and India.

8) (Updated) Ontario suspending surcharge on electricity exports to U.S., Ford going to Washington

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Allison Jones, March 11, 2025

Ontario Premier Doug Ford agreed Tuesday to suspend the province’s surcharge on electricity it exports to three states after a top American official extended an “olive branch” in the form of a meeting in Washington to talk free trade.

Ford called Tuesday for cooler heads to prevail in the United States’ trade war against Canada, which ratcheted up earlier in the day with U.S. President Donald Trump announcing he would double impending tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada to 50 per cent in response to Ontario’s electricity surcharge.

The White House confirmed later Tuesday those tariffs would be scaled back to 25 per cent.

U.S Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick invited Ford and federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc down to Washington, D.C., on Thursday to discuss a renewal of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade ahead of Trump’s April 2 reciprocal tariff deadline.

In exchange, Ford agreed to suspend the electricity surcharge.

“Both parties are heated and the temperature needs to come down and I thought this was the right decision,” he said after the call.

“I believe when someone’s putting out an olive branch, we sit back, we accept it — graciously, by the way — thank him for that opportunity, and let’s start moving,” Ford added.

“All of you folks have seen how President Trump has changed things on a daily basis. I don’t want to wait until April 2. God only knows what would happen from now till April 2. We need to get to the table as quickly as possible.” 

The president had also threatened in social media posts Tuesday to shut down Canada’s auto industry and inflict an unspecified steep financial price on the country.

Trump later called Ford a “very strong man” and praised him for backing off the surcharge.

“It would have been a very bad thing if he (kept it in place) and he’s not going to do that, so I respect that,” the president said.

Ford had announced Monday that Ontario was placing a 25 per cent surcharge on Ontario electricity that it sends to New York, Michigan and Minnesota in response to Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods.

Ford has also been suggesting the province could cut off the supply of energy if the tariffs escalated.

“Did it catch their attention?” he said. “That’s an understatement.”

Ford has been doing numerous interviews with major American news networks, calling on Trump to back off the tariffs and renegotiate the trade deal if he feels there is an imbalance – though, as Ford often notes in the interviews, the deal was originally signed by Trump in his first term.

“I’m a businessperson, I want to sit down and negotiate this and stop the bleeding,” Ford said.

“As we’re going at each other, China’s sitting back laughing, building their critical mineral arsenal.”

Ford also said he will be meeting with Canada’s prime minister-designate Mark Carney on Wednesday. 

9) (Updated) Canada’s dairy industry says tariffs less scary than threats to supply management

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Morgan Lowrie, March 11, 2025

Canadian dairy farmers say they are less worried about the threat of steep U.S. tariffs than about a looming battle over supply management.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose what he calls “reciprocal” tariffs on Canadian dairy. The president’s team has repeatedly said that Canada imposes 250 per cent dairy tariffs, without explaining how dairy duties actually work or noting that the U.S. also has industry-related tariffs of its own and a highly subsidized agricultural market.

Trump posted about dairy again on social media on Tuesday, writing that “Canada must immediately drop their Anti-American Farmer Tariff of 250 per cent to 390 per cent on various U.S. dairy products, which has long been considered outrageous.”

Quebec farmer Markus Schnegg says nearly all the dairy produced in Canada is sold for domestic consumption, meaning the targeted U.S. tariffs would only affect a small fraction of the market.

But he is worried that Canada’s supply management system — which protects the industry from international competition — appears to be in the U.S. president’s crosshairs ahead of a review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.

Canada’s system of supply management for dairy, poultry and eggs functions by setting production quotas for farmers, guaranteeing minimum prices and maintaining import controls.

Schnegg says his farm in St-Blaise-sur-Richelieu has about 160 head of cattle in total, with 80 milking cows. He says the U.S. dairy industry dwarfs Canada’s, with some farms having as many as 20,000 cows.

“Our market is two per cent of the United States market,” he said. Without supply management, “they can flood us in a minute.” He said U.S. producers also have advantages in the form of a milder climate, as well as cheaper labour — often in the form of undocumented immigrants.

University of Guelph food economist Michael von Massow says that Canada imports far more dairy from the U.S. than it exports, which suggests an escalating dairy tariff war could hurt American farmers more than Canadian ones.

“Would the industry feel (the tariffs)? Yes. Would it be a significant disruptor to the Canadian dairy industry? Not at all,” he said in a phone interview. “And if the Canadians put a similar tariff on the product that’s already coming in from the U.S., which is not unlikely, then in fact it would be a net benefit for Canada.”

Von Massow said the Trump administration’s statements on dairy are “not entirely accurate.” 

He added that before the trade war, the U.S. dairy that Canada imported wasn’t tariffed at all because it was less than the limit agreed upon by the two countries in the existing free trade deal. Imports above that limit face Canadian tariffs of about 250 per cent — but he says the United States has not been hitting the quota.

“In fact, there is room for more to come from the U.S. before it hits that high level of tariffs, so, yes, tariffs are 250 per cent or 240 per cent, but no, none of the U.S. dairy products coming into Canada are currently facing that level of tariff,” he said. 

The Canadian government did include some dairy products in a list of $30 billion worth of goods that it slapped with a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff earlier this month.

The president of Quebec’s main dairy producers association says that only one per cent of Canada’s dairy is exported to the United States — largely in the form of specialty products such as fine cheeses.

But Daniel Gobeil says that, despite the low number of exports, the trade war is expected to raise the cost of production on both sides of the border and create a climate of uncertainty that makes farmers reluctant to invest. “Nobody’s a winner,” he said.

He noted that Canada agreed to allow U.S. dairy farmers access to about 3.5 per cent of the domestic market as part of the last free trade deal, which represents a small number for the U.S. dairy industry but was significant for Canadian farmers.

He said he’s encouraged to see Canadian politicians signalling their support for supply management, which he described as vital to Canada’s food security and independence.

The Canadian Dairy Commission, a Crown corporation that manages Canada’s dairy industry, noted in an emailed statement that the supply management system focuses on the domestic market and is therefore less susceptible to market fluctuations. 

“While it is difficult to predict the full extent of the impact any action by the U.S.A. would have on the Canadian dairy sector, the (Canadian Dairy Commission), along with the industry and other government partners, has been examining the situation and developing various scenarios to ensure all tools and policies are in place to mitigate any impacts,” wrote Philippe Charlebois, the commission’s executive director for corporate services.

10)Loblaw to roll out ‘tariff’ symbols on products seeing higher prices due to trade war

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Rosa Saba, March 19, 2025

As grocers increasingly highlight Canadian products amid a trade war with the U.S., Loblaw is rolling out new symbols alongside prices that include an indication that a product’s price has been affected by retaliatory tariffs. 

Customers could notice the changes as early as next week, said spokeswoman Catherine Thomas.

After U.S. President Donald Trump enacted tariffs on Canadian goods last week, Ottawa introduced tariffs of its own on a wide swath of goods coming from south of the border. 

Loblaw’s “tariff” symbol consists of a letter T inside a white triangle over a grey box.

CEO Per Bank said in a LinkedIn post Monday that Canadians shouldn’t expect to see prices in stores rise right away because of tariffs. 

“As you would expect, we have inventory of U.S. products in our distribution centres, which we purchased before the tariffs went into effect. That means the pricing of many products will not be impacted until we sell what we already have on hand,” he wrote. 

“But tariffs will eventually impact prices for certain products we sell – and that could come within a week or two for some items, such as fresh produce.”

For other products, Loblaw expects price increases to show up on store shelves in about six weeks, the company said on its website. 

Bank said the new symbol, which Loblaw is testing across its store network, will show customers which products are sourced from the U.S. and are increasing in price because of tariffs. 

“Customers can be assured that when tariffs come off, any tariff pricing changes will be entirely removed,” he said. 

Loblaw is also adding maple leaf symbols to products that were prepared in Canada with domestic and/or imported ingredients, said Thomas.

She said products prepared in Canada may also see cost increases if any of their ingredients are sourced from the U.S., while changing commodity prices and the weak Canadian dollar are also factors. 

If a package says “Product of Canada” or “Made in Canada,” even more aspects of the product are domestic, she said. 

Loblaw previously said it’s working to replace some of its U.S.-sourced products from Canada or other countries to avoid the effects of tariffs. Other grocers have made similar comments and have also been rolling out programs to highlight Canadian products in their stores. 

However, Canada is particularly reliant on the U.S. for some items, in particular fresh produce during the winter months, making those more difficult to replace.