Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is just asking Canadian leaders to give a little thanks for the United States’ generosity to help de-escalate the neighbors’ trade war.
Canada announced $21 billion in new tariffs on Wednesday targeting imports of US computers and sports gear, in the latest slap shot fired in this battle.
The move comes hours after President Donald Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum went into effect.
Now, with Lutnick set to meet with combative Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc on Thursday, he’s offered some advice for America’s longtime ally.
‘Just say thank you. God knows, just say thank you,’ he told CBS News, adding that Canada should be grateful for being the United States’ biggest trading partner.
He added that the Canadians are acting similarly to Ukraine, whom he says has refused to say thank you for ‘having received $300billion in aid from U.S. and military and NATO and all the rest.’
Lutnick believes that Canada is behaving this way because previous administrations have simply allowed them to.
‘Think about it. The biggest trading partner in the whole world that is vital to Canada’s existence says, “I’m unhappy,” and they respond negatively, you know why? Because for 20 years, 30 years, they’ve gotten away with it.’
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is just asking Canadian leaders to give a little thanks for the United States’ generosity to help de-escalate the neighbors’ trade war
With Lutnick set to meet with combative Ontario Premier Doug Ford (pictured) and Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc on Thursday, he’s offered some advice for America’s longtime ally
The Commerce Secretary added that Trump threatened 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum because Ford is ‘some guy in Ontario’ who Trump ‘needed to break.’
‘He needed to break some guy in Ontario who said he was going to tax American energy 25 percent. The President of the United States in the White House says, “Oh, no, you won’t,” and breaks him,’ Lutnick said.
After rumors his standing within the administration was falling, Lutnick is emerging as a fierce defender the president’s tariffs taking on the lengthy interview.
‘These policies are the most important thing America has ever had,’ Lutnick said when Cortes asked him if tariffs were still ‘worth it’ even if it tipped the economy into a recession.
‘It is worth it,’ he said. ‘The only reason there could possibly be a recession is because of the Biden nonsense that we had to live with.’
Lutnick cited Trump’s successful hard-nosed dealing with Ford who tried to bully Trump by leveling additional tariffs on power exports to the United States, but ultimately had to abandon his proposal.
Canada folded to Trump on Tuesday after he vowed the nation would pay a historically big ‘financial price’ for the electricity tariff it was imposing on parts of the U.S.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford reversed course and said he would cancel the 25 percent tariff on Canadian electricity supplied to northern states of Michigan, New York and Minnesota.
Lutnick cited Trump’s successful hard-nosed dealing with Ford who tried to bully Trump by leveling additional tariffs on power exports to the United States, but ultimately had to abandon his proposal
After rumors his standing within the administration was falling , Lutnick is emerging as a fierce defender the president’s tariffs taking on the lengthy interview
Trump agreed, after Canada backed down, not to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50 percent, meaning they will stay at 25 percent.
The Premier said he spoke with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about the situation and they agreed to meet Thursday to discuss reciprocal tariffs that Trump wants to put in place on April 2.
‘Ontario agreed to suspend its 25 percent surcharge on exports of electricity to Michigan, New York and Minnesota,’ Ford said.
Wall Street did not react kindly to the whipsaw negotiations, as the stock market declined seven percent and consumer confidence dropped.
‘It is not chaotic,’ Lutnick said. ‘And the only one who thinks it’s chaotic is someone who’s being silly.’
Lutnick, who is familiar with Wall Street, urged CEOs to be patient with the president as he got aggressive with tariffs.
‘The markets are going to learn, let the dealmaker make his deals,’ he said in the interview with CBS.
Lutnick, the former CEO of the Wall Street financial investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, is a former Democrat, which Trump mentioned during the commerce secretary’s swearing in ceremony.
Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Wednesday when announcing the tariffs that the latest list of products impacted by this trade war includes computers, sports equipment and cast iron products
The trade war between the U.S. and Canada continues after the northern neighbors announced a new wave of reciprocal tariffs after the 25 percent penalty on Canada’s steel and aluminum went into effect this week
‘Even though he spent a little bit of his time in life as a Democrat from New York, I’m OK with it because I knew him during his Democrat days and that’s okay,’ he commented.
Trump said he was confident that Lutnick would help him bring the American economy back, asserting he would ‘lead the charge’ on his tariff and trade agenda.
‘There is no deal you can do that’s bigger. Every deal. That’s why you can never go back into business because it seems like small potatoes, no matter how big it is, including even Cantor Fitzgerald,’ Trump joked.
Lutnick was Trump’s transition co-chair who had the ear of the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and said he was helping with some of the personnel decisions.
‘Jared Kushner is a big help to me … he’s absolutely helping me,’ said Lutnick to System Update reporter Michael Tracey in October.
Lutnick was initially considered for Treasury Secretary but ultimately Trump chose Scott Bessent for the job. The commerce position was seen as a consolation prize for Lutnick.
Trump frequently turns to Lutnick in meetings, asking him to detail some of the proposals from the administration.
The proposed ‘gold card’ visa program proposed to replace EB-5 visas was seen as a brain child of Lutnick who has repeatedly been the lead spokesperson on the idea.
United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent converse prior to US President Donald J Trump’s remarks at the White House
Elon Musk, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and White House chief of staff Susan Wiles walk at the White House
The program would allow wealthy foreigners to spend $5 million to earn permanent legal residency in the United State and a pathway to citizenship.
Dominic LeBlanc, the Canadian Finance Minister, said on Wednesday that the list of products impacted by the new tariffs includes computers, sports equipment and cast iron products.
LeBlanc said: ‘Today, I am announcing that the government of Canada, following a dollar-for-dollar approach, will be imposing, as of 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, March 13, 2025, 25 percent reciprocal tariffs on an additional C$29.8 billion ($20.7 billion) of imports from the United States.’
He added: ‘This includes steel products worth C$12.6 billion and aluminum products worth C$3 billion as well as additional imported U.S. goods worth C$14.2 billion.’
Canada’s electricity tariffs implemented on Monday marked an escalation in the trade war and came in response to earlier tariffs from Trump.
Amid the intensifying trade war, the president reiterated his call for the U.S. to bring Canada into the fold.
‘Canada should honestly become our 51st state. we wouldn’t have a northern border problem. We wouldn’t have a tariff problem,’ Trump said.
‘Canada would be great as our cherished 51st state. You wouldn’t have border problems. You wouldn’t have anything.’
Earlier Tuesday, Trump declared a national emergency on electricity in the United States and doubled the tariffs on aluminum and steel from Canada after Ford enacted his electricity tariff.
