The White House has backed away from Donald Trump’s threat to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium after Ontario suspended a plan to levy a surcharge on electricity exports to the United States.
BBC News reported that Trump had threatened to raise the tariff rate on the metals from 25% to 50% in retaliation for the Ontario move. Later in the day, White House officials said the U.S. would impose 25% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium after all, not the doubled rate.
The dispute escalated quickly because the two issues were linked. Ontario Premier Doug Ford had announced a 25% surcharge on electricity sent to northern U.S. states, prompting Trump to say he would respond with a national emergency on electricity and higher metal tariffs. Ford then said he would temporarily suspend the surcharge while talks continued, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick invited him to Washington.
The BBC account shows how fast the policy moved from threat to rollback. Trump first said the tariffs would begin on Wednesday. Later, after consultations and back-channel negotiations, White House officials said the original 25% steel and aluminium tariff would go ahead as scheduled at midnight, while the Canadian-specific doubling was cancelled.
The broader context is a trade confrontation that reached well beyond metals. The report said the day had already been marked by the worst U.S. market performance of 2025, driven by fear of Trump’s aggressive tariff approach toward major trading partners. It also described a dramatic public response in Canada, where the anti-Trump mood was strong and the political consequences were immediate.
That response mattered because energy and metals are intertwined across the border. The BBC said Ontario’s proposed electricity surcharge would have affected 1.5 million homes and businesses in northern U.S. states. Electricity Canada, a trade association, said the cross-border power trade exists because it can improve affordability and balance seasonal demand. In that sense, the dispute was about much more than one tariff rate: it touched energy security, manufacturing costs and political symbolism.
The final outcome was a partial de-escalation, but not a return to normal. The U.S. still intends to apply 25% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium, and the episode showed how quickly the White House is willing to use tariff threats in response to other governments’ moves. For Canadian officials, the immediate concern was preventing further escalation. For markets, the day offered another reminder that trade policy can reverse course within hours.
