Canada's Ontario suspends energy surcharge after Trump threat

OTTAWA -- Canada's Ontario on Tuesday agreed to suspend its 25 percent surcharge on electricity exports to three US states, after US President Donald Trump's threat to double tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada.

According to a joint statement from Ontario Premier Doug Ford and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Ford will travel to Washington on Thursday to meet with Lutnick and discuss "a renewed USMCA ahead of the April 2 reciprocal tariff deadline."

The Ontario government on Monday officially applied a 25 percent surcharge on all electricity exports to Michigan, Minnesota and New York.

Trump wrote on social media on Tuesday that he will double the tariffs on steel and aluminum, expected on Wednesday, and that he will declare a "National Emergency on Electricity" in areas affected by Ontario's 25 percent surcharge on energy exports to the United States.