USA

Nations targeted by President Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum decried the measures as unfair Tuesday and threatened to retaliate in a growing trade dispute that threatens to further roil economic markets and strain the United States’ relations with major allies.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, the United States’ biggest supplier of both metals, described Mr. Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports as “unjustified” and “unacceptable.”

Mr. Trudeau said he hoped to avert the imposition of the tariffs — which will not go into effect until March 12 — by highlighting their “negative impacts on Americans and Canadians.”

Justin Trudeau met with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance on the sidelines of an international summit in Paris and raised his concerns about the 25-per-cent tariffs on steel and aluminium announced by the Trump administration this week.

So that should do it. Perhaps Vance will report back that Trudeau is a bit miffed and the chastened Trump will cancel the tariffs.

More likely, Vance will share a good laugh with the president at the prime minister’s expense.

Then again maybe not …

NEW: Speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., Premier Doug Ford stated that Ontario could cut off electricity as far south as Florida at a moment’s notice.pic.twitter.com/HqjYQaczgo

— Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) February 11, 2025

h/t XC & Mauser

The price of eggs in the United States is soaring. In some states, a dozen eggs now retail for over $11, among the highest prices ever recorded. The ongoing avian flu outbreak is wreaking havoc, with the U.S. having culled more than 10% of its laying hen flock in recent months.

The NDP made new election commitments on Monday: imposing tariffs on Tesla electric vehicles, bringing back the federal EV rebate and doubling it if consumers buy a Canadian-made plug-in car.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is on a campaign-style swing in Canada’s automotive capital and border town: Windsor, Ont.

Singh told reporters that if Trump follows through with his threat to apply a tariff to all Canadian goods, a New Democrat federal government would slap a 100 per cent trade tax on all Tesla products.

President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum on Monday, re-upping a policy from his first term that pleased domestic metal makers, but hurt other American industries and ignited trade wars with allies on multiple fronts.

The president signed two official proclamations Monday evening that would impose a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum from all countries globally. A White House official said in a call with reporters that there would be no exclusions offered, and that the president was directing customs officials to dramatically increase their oversight over such imports.

The measures will be welcomed by domestic steelmakers, who argue they are struggling to compete against cheap foreign metals. As they did during Mr. Trump’s first term, U.S. metal makers have been lobbying the administration for protection, and Trump officials agree that a strong domestic metal sector is essential for U.S. national security.