U.S. President Donald Trump reversed course on Tuesday, scaling back a planned 50% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum just hours after announcing the sharp hike, following a retaliatory electricity surcharge threat from Ontario.
The abrupt reversal came after Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatened to impose a 25% surcharge on electricity supplied to over 1 million U.S. homes unless Trump dropped all tariff threats against Canadian exports.
Ford agreed to suspend the surcharge and meet U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington on Thursday. The White House then confirmed that only the originally planned 25% tariffs on all imported steel and aluminum would take effect on March 12.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai framed the move as a strategic victory, stating that Trump leveraged U.S. economic power to protect domestic interests.
The S&P 500 index briefly dropped 10% from its February 19 high, before recovering after Ford’s policy shift and Ukraine’s acceptance of a 30-day ceasefire.
Businesses and investors remain on edge as Trump hints at further tariff increases, particularly targeting Canada’s auto exports from April 2.
U.S. industries warn of inflation risks, as aluminum prices soared to record highs above $990 per metric ton.
Consumer confidence has weakened, with a New York Fed survey showing growing concerns over inflation and job security.
Trump’s latest tariff escalation comes as Canada transitions power from Justin Trudeau to incoming Prime Minister Mark Carney. The Canadian government has yet to formally respond to Trump’s trade maneuvers.
Meanwhile, Alberta officials are exploring options to de-escalate tensions, while Mexico has refrained from retaliation after Trump delayed planned tariffs on its exports.
"This is what a trade war looks like—tit-for-tat escalation that can quickly spiral into economic damage for both sides," said Josh Lipsky, senior director at the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center.
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China has announced plans to fully cover childbirth-related costs for families as authorities move to incentivise young couples to have more children.
The Taliban leadership in Afghanistan opted out of a major regional meeting held in Iran’s capital Tehran on Sunday.
Australia vowed stricter gun laws on Monday as it began mourning victims of its worst mass shooting in almost 30 years, in which police accused a father-and-son duo of killing 16 people at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
Oil prices are rising worldwide as investors assess supply risks linked to growing tensions between the United States and Venezuela after the former seized an oil tanker Skipper on 10 December, a move Caracas calls “international piracy”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated his offer to host Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Ankara, at his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The talks took place on the sidelines of the international Forum for Peace and Trust in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on Friday (12 December).
Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, has said that Ukraine has not provided Moscow with a list of thousands of children it alleges were taken illegally to Russia, despite the issue being discussed during talks in Istanbul.
Iranian authorities have seized a foreign tanker carrying more than 6 million litres of smuggled fuel in the Sea of Oman, detaining all 18 crew members on board.
An explosive device found in a vehicle linked to one of the alleged attackers in Bondi shooting has been secured and removed according to Police. The incident left 12 people dead.
The latest round of clashes between Thailand and Cambodia has left 15 Thai soldiers dead and 270 others injured, Thailand’s Ministry of Defence spokesman Surasant Kongsiri said at a press conference on Saturday.
Oil prices are rising worldwide as investors assess supply risks linked to growing tensions between the United States and Venezuela after the former seized an oil tanker Skipper on 10 December, a move Caracas calls “international piracy”.
Syria has arrested five people suspected of having links to a deadly attack on a joint U.S.–Syrian convoy in the central town of Palmyra on Saturday, the country’s Interior Ministry said.
The head of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, the foreign spy service known as MI6, has warned that Russia "remains an aggressive and expansionist threat", vowing sustained support for Ukraine and calling for greater use of technology to protect UK security.
Odesa residents remained without power for a third straight day on Monday (15 December) after a Russian missile and drone strike crippled the power grid on Saturday (13 December).
Fighting along the Thailand–Cambodia border has entered a fifth consecutive day, despite U.S. President Donald Trump claiming he had brokered a ceasefire between the two sides.
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