Published by: Robert England<>
11 Mar 2025 @ 21:10 UTC

Ontario Premier Doug Ford agreed to suspend a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to the US following a conversation with US Treasury Secretary Howard Lutnick, in which Lutnick said the US would be willing to begin talks on the renewal of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) immediately, according to a joint statement on Tuesday March 11.

Secretary Lutnick and Premier Ford also set the first meeting for the renewal talks in Washington on Thursday March 13 to include US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
News of the breakthrough was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Premier Ford at 2:41pm EST on Tuesday.
This agreement brings forward USMCA renewal negotiations that originally were set to begin the first quarter of 2026.
Canada first indicated it wanted to start USMCA talks early on March 6 when Canada’s industry minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said all three countries need to “get back to something that makes sense, which is stability and predictability.”
On Wednesday March 12, the US is set to increase Section 232 tariffs on Canada to 50% from 25% set last month, with industry observers speculating those duties be suspended or reduced for Canada until April 2, when the US is expected to impose reciprocal tariffs and 25% automotive and semiconductor tariffs.
The conversation between Secretary Lutnick and Premier Ford that led to a breakthrough was arranged after President Donald Trump threatened in a post on Truth Social earlier in the day to raise Section 232 tariffs on Canada from 25% to 50% in retaliation to Ontario’s decision to impose a 25% tariff of energy exported to the US.