President Trump wanted a trade war with the world, and Americans are getting it, good and hard. Stock prices continued to decline on Tuesday amid the latest Canada-U.S. tariff tit-for-tat. Ontario premier Doug Ford said he was raising the price of his province’s electricity exports to the U.S. by 25% in response to Mr. Trump’s on-and-off 25% tariffs on Canada. Mr. Trump went ballistic, even by his standards. …His exhortation that Canada become a US state is a tacit acknowledgment that the two economies are deeply integrated. His splendid little tariff war will harm businesses and consumers on both sides of the border. …Ontario’s Mr. Ford and Mr. Lutnick plan to meet Thursday. …The trouble with trade wars is that once they begin they can quickly escalate and get out of control. …We said from the beginning that this North American trade war is the dumbest in history, and we were being kind. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription s required]
Related coverage in:
- BBC: Trump halts plan for 50% steel and aluminium tariffs on Canada
- CTV News: Canada to announce $29.8 billion in retaliatory tariffs on US
- France24: EU hits back with countermeasures against Trump’s ‘unjustified’ tariffs
- New York Times: A tariff pile-on threatens to escalate a global trade war
- The Guardian: From Canada to Europe, a movement to boycott US goods is spreading