A Policy That Requires TRADE WAR LIVE UPDATES is a Failed Policy
Earlier today (3.11), Trump announced that he would double planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50%:
Trump said on social media that the increase of the tariffs set to take effect on Wednesday is a response to the price increases that the provincial government of Ontario put on electricity sold to the United States.
“I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD,” Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social..
See Josh Boak, Rob Gillies, and Michelle Price, Trump doubles planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50% as trade war intensifies, Associated Press, March 11, 2025.
Only hours later, Trump reversed course:
President Donald Trump reversed course and will no longer double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Peter Navarro, the White House’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, said Tuesday.
See Joey Garrison, John Bacon, Francesca Chambers, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Rachel Barber, Medora Lee, Andrea Riquier, Jorge L. Ortiz,1 Trump reverses course, won't double tariffs on some Canada imports: Trade war live updates, USA Today, March 11, 2025.
Predictably, FOX BUSINESS describes today's events as "Ontario premier backs down, suspends electricity surcharge on US after Trump tariff threats on Canadian metals."2
It's a small gain for America when Canada sensibly de-escalates from an ongoing trade war of America's provocation and to America's (and Canada's) detriment.
A policy that requires TRADE WAR LIVE UPDATES is a failed policy.
Victory will come only after the United States wholly abandons Trump's irrational and mercurial trade war.
- Trump's capricious trade war tactics require team coverage.
- "Ontario premier backs down": Fox describes this as a UFC match. Should have been: "Canadian politician more reflective than American president." (And that politician would be Doug Ford, of all people.)