Tariffs on Canadian goods imposed by Donald Trump and the U.S. government took hold Tuesday, marking the start of a North American trade war. Follow the Star’s real-time news and analysis on Friday.
Donald Trump gives Canada another reprieve on threatened tariffs until April 2
Canada and Mexico are getting temporary reprieves from U.S. tariffs until April 2, when President Donald Trump threatens sweeping tariffs on all global imports.
Trump signed new executive orders Thursday that delay tariffs on products sold into the U.S. that comply with the renegotiated North America free trade deal’s rules on country of origin and content. However, he said 25 per cent tariffs scheduled to take effect on steel and aluminum imports will still go ahead next week on Mar. 12, as planned.
It’s not clear how those tariffs will mesh with Trump’s order giving the automotive sector a one-month delay on tariffs, because steel and aluminum are key components of vehicle production.
The Canadian government was scrambling to understand what volume of Canadian exports fall outside the trade deal rules, and may still be affected by tariffs, while the White House suggested it’s a lot — 62 per cent.
Get the full story from Ottawa Bureau Chief Tonda MacCharles
Doug Ford to slap a 25% tax on electricity sent to 1.5 million U.S. customers
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Premier Doug Ford has jolted U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, promising to slap a 25 per cent export tax on Ontario electricity that is sold stateside.
Despite signals that Trump is easing off from his threatened 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods, Ford said “we have to follow through until he drops tariffs completely.”
That means that as of Monday, the electricity Ontario ships to 1.5 million customers in New York, Michigan and Minnesota will be subject to a new counter levy.
Read more from Queen’s Park reporters Rob Ferguson and Robert Benzie
Jack Daniel’s maker says LCBO pulling its booze off the shelves in response to Trump’s trade war is ‘worse than the tariff’
All’s fair in love and (trade) war. Not quite, said the CEO of the American company that makes Jack Daniel’s whiskey.
Canada’s not playing fair, Lawson Whiting, chief executive of Brown-Forman, told shareholders on an earnings call Wednesday.
The LCBO, one of the world’s largest purchasers of alcohol, took U.S. liquor off shelves in retaliation against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, a “disproportionate response” that is “worse than a tariff,” Whiting said.
Read the full story from the Star’s Marisa Coulton
Toronto will ban U.S. companies bidding on city contracts in response to Trump’s tariffs
Mayor Olivia Chow says she plans to ban U.S. companies from bidding on contracts with the City of Toronto amid the ongoing trade war between Canada and its southern neighbour.
Chow provided an update on her administration’s response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Canadian goods at a press conference Thursday morning to talk about upgrades to a TTC complex.
Effective immediately, the city will exclusively award all contracts valued at less than $353,000 to Canadian companies, she confirmed.
She also promised to present a motion to her executive committee “barring any U.S. companies from future Toronto contracts.”
