Trump announces severe retaliation in response to Ontario tariffs on electricity

U.S. President Donald Trump announced further tariffs on Canada on Tuesday, imposed in response to Ontario Premier Doug Ford's 25 per cent tariffs on electricity supplied to the States.

Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Tuesday morning, announcing that tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum products coming into the U.S. would be doubled from 25 per cent to 50 per cent in response to Doug Ford's retaliation to U.S. tariff threats.

Trump stated that "Based on Ontario, Canada, placing a 25 per cent Tariff on 'Electricity' coming into the United States, I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an ADDITIONAL 25 per cent Tariff, to 50 per cent, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD."

"This will go into effect TOMORROW MORNING, March 12th. Also, Canada must immediately drop their Anti-American Farmer Tariff of 250 per cent to 390 per cent on various U.S. dairy products, which has long been considered outrageous."

"I will shortly be declaring a National Emergency on Electricity within the threatened area. This will allow the U.S to quickly do what has to be done to alleviate this abusive threat from Canada."

Trump then threatened to effectively shut down Ontario's auto sector for good, warning that "If other egregious, long time Tariffs are not likewise dropped by Canada, I will substantially increase, on April 2nd, the Tariffs on Cars coming into the U.S. which will, essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada. Those cars can easily be made in the USA!"

The U.S. President once again attacked Canada's national security spending and claimed to be subsidizing its northern neighbour "to the tune of more than 200 Billion Dollars a year," saying "this cannot continue."

Trump's post goes on to threaten Canadian sovereignty, saying "The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State. This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear."

Trump claims that "Canadians [sic] taxes will be very substantially reduced," though the U.S. threatened absorption of Canada would almost certainly eliminate the social services those taxes pay for, leaving vulnerable Canadians on the hook for astronomical medical bills.

Trump's annexation threats continued, claiming Canadians "will be more secure, militarily and otherwise, than ever before, there would no longer be a Northern Border problem, and the greatest and most powerful nation in the World will be bigger, better and stronger than ever."

The unhinged rant continues its talk of annexation, calling the U.S.-Canada border an "artificial line of separation drawn many years ago [that] will finally disappear," and offers Canadians the hollow concession of getting to keep our "brilliant anthem."

Similar to previous tariff threats, Trump's announcement sent stock markets into a death spiral on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday morning's market panic follows a disastrous Monday that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average close at a loss of 890 points that briefly flirted with a ranking as one of the worst days in the market's history.

The S&P 500 closed below a 200-day moving average for the first time in over two years, while the Nasdaq saw its worst single-day percentage dip in almost three years at 4.2 per cent.