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NEW YORK (AP) — Long-threatened tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump have plunged the country into a trade war abroad — all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.

Since taking office less than two months ago, Trump has rolled out hefty import taxes on goods coming from America’s three biggest trading partners — Mexico, Canada and China — and promises that more targets are on the horizon.

Trump is no stranger to tariffs. He also launched a trade war during his first term in office, but has more sweeping plans now. Economists stress there could greater consequences on businesses and economies worldwide this time — and that higher prices will likely leave consumers footing the bill.

There’s also been a sense of whiplash from Trump’s back-and-forth tariff threats and responding retaliation, including recently-postponed levies for some goods from Canada and Mexico that followed a 30-day pause for the auto industry. The uncertainty has roiled financial markets, lowered consumer confidence, and enveloped many businesses with questions that could delay hiring and investment.

Here’s a timeline of how we got here:

Trump’s first term

Trump launches a trade war during his first term in office — taking particular aim at China.

The two countries exchange a series of tit-for-tat levies affecting hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of goods. The dispute centers around U.S. allegations that China deploys underhanded tactics — including stealing trade secrets and pressuring U.S. companies to hand over sensitive technology — in an effort to supplant the U.S. in advanced fields such as quantum computing and automated cars.

Trump puts tariffs on most Chinese goods. Meanwhile, Beijing responds with its own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products ranging from fruit, soybeans and wine to aircraft, automotive and chemical imports.

Separately, Trump slaps tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines. And in 2018, he imposes taxes of 25% on imported steel and 10% on aluminum imports on national security grounds, escalating tensions with other trading partners. He also uses the threat of more tariffs to force Canada and Mexico to renegotiate a North American trade pact, called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, in 2020.

Tariffs under Biden

President Joe Biden largely preserves most of the tariffs Trump previously enacted against China, but his administration claims to take a more targeted approach.

In October 2022, he issues sweeping new restrictions on selling semiconductors and chipmaking equipment to China. These curbs will be expanded in October 2023 and December 2024 — when China responds with a ban of U.S. exports for various high-tech materials like gallium and germanium.

Biden also hikes tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, solar cells, steel, aluminum and medical equipment in May 2024. And in July, he imposes tariffs on steel and aluminum shipped from Mexico but made elsewhere in an attempt to stop China from circumventing import taxes.

2024 campaign trail promises

Biden’s 2024 tariff moves come in the middle of a heated presidential campaign — with both Biden and Trump taking jabs at each other in attempts to show who’s tougher on China.

On the campaign trail, Trump says that he plans to impose tariffs of at least 60% on all Chinese imports if he wins a second term. He also floats the idea of a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the U.S. imports while threatening to impose even bigger levies for specific countries or manufacturers that take their business outside the U.S.

While the Biden-Harris administration uses tariffs to target China, both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — who becomes the Democratic nominee after Biden drops out of the race — maintain that Trump’s promise of more broad tariffs worldwide would be a mistake. Harris labels Trump’s call for tariffs as a “national sales tax” — with her campaign later saying that a 20% tariff applied across the board would raise expenses for a typical family by almost $4,000 annually.

November 2024

Trump wins the U.S. presidential election. He continues to promise steep tariff hikes in the coming weeks and months leading up to his first day back in office.

January 20

Trump is sworn in. In his inaugural address, he again promises to “tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.” And he reiterates plans to create an agency called the External Revenue Service, which has yet to be established.

On his first day in office, Trump also says he expects to put 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting on Feb. 1, while declining to immediately flesh out plans for taxing Chinese imports.

January 26

Trump threatens 25% tariffs on all Colombia imports and other retaliatory measures after President Gustavo Petro’s rejects two U.S. military aircraft carrying migrants to the country, accusing Trump of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation.

In response, Petro also announces a retaliatory 25% increase in Colombian tariffs on U.S. goods. But Colombia later reversed its decision and accepted the flights carrying migrants. The two countries soon signaled a halt in the trade dispute.

February 1

Trump signs an executive order to impose tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China — 10% on all imports from China and 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada starting Feb. 4. Trump invoked this power by declaring a national emergency — ostensibly over undocumented immigration and drug trafficking. The levies on Canada and Mexico threaten to blow up Trump’s own USMCA trade deal, which allowed many products to cross North American borders duty free.

The action prompts swift outrage from all three countries, with promises of retaliatory measures.

February 3

Trump agrees to a 30-day pause on his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada, with both trading partners taking steps to appease Trump’s concerns about border security and drug trafficking.

February 4

Trump’s new 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports to the U.S. still go into effect. China retaliates the same day by announcing a flurry of countermeasures, including sweeping new duties on a variety of American goods and an anti-monopoly investigation into Google.

China’s 15% tariffs on coal and liquefied natural gas products, and a 10% levy on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars imported from the U.S., take effect Feb. 10.

February 10

Trump announces plans to hike steel and aluminum tariffs. He removes the exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on steel, meaning that all steel imports will be taxed at a minimum of 25%, and also raises his 2018 aluminum tariffs to 25% from 10% set to go into effect March 12.

February 13

Trump announces a plan for “reciprocal” tariffs — promising to increase U.S. tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports “for purposes of fairness.” Economists warn that the reciprocal tariffs, set to overturn decades of trade policy, could create chaos for global businesses.

Beyond China, Canada and Mexico, he indicates that additional countries, such as India, won’t be spared from higher tariffs. And in the following weeks, Trump suggests that European countries could face a 25% levy as part of these efforts.

February 25

Trump signed an executive order instructing the Commerce Department to consider whether a tariff on imported copper is needed to protect national security. He cites the material’s use in U.S. defense, infrastructure and emerging technologies.

March 1

Trump signs an additional executive order instructing the Commerce Department to consider whether tariffs on lumber and timber are also needed to protect national security, arguing that the construction industry and military depend on a strong supply of wooden products in the U.S.

March 4

Trump’s 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico go into effect, though he limits the levy to 10% on Canadian energy. He also doubles the tariff on all Chinese imports to 20%.

All three countries promise retaliatory measures. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. And Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says her country would respond with its own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods without specifying the targeted products immediately, signaling hopes to de-escalate.

China, meanwhile, imposes tariffs of up to 15% on a wide array of key U.S. farm exports. It also expands the number of U.S. companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen.

March 5

Trump grants a one-month exemption on his new tariffs impacting goods from Mexico and Canada for U.S. automakers. The pause arrives after the president spoke with leaders of the “Big 3” automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.

March 6

In a wider extension, Trump postpones 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month. But he still plans to impose “reciprocal” tariffs starting on April 2.

Trump credited Sheinbaum with making progress on border security and drug smuggling as a reason for again pausing tariffs — and the Mexican president said in a post on X that she and Trump “had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results.”

Trump’s actions also thawed relations with Canada somewhat, although outrage and uncertainty over the trade war remains. Still, after its initial retaliatory tariffs of $30 billion Canadian (US$21 billion) on U.S. goods, the government said it had suspended its second wave of retaliatory tariffs worth $125 billion Canadian (US$87 billion).

March 10

China retaliates against Trump’s tariffs by imposing additional 15% taxes on key American farm products, including chicken, pork, soybeans and beef. The escalating trade tensions push stocks lower on Monday as investors worry about the pain Trump’s trade wars risk inflicting on the American economy.

The Chinese tariffs were a response to Trump’s decision to double the levy on Chinese imports to 20% on March 4. China’s Commerce Ministry had earlier said that goods already in transit would be exempt from the retaliatory tariffs until April 12.

Wyatte Grantham-philips, The Associated Press







WASHINGTON (AP) — Crews have begun work to remove the large yellow “Black Lives Matter” painted on the street one block from the White House.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the change last week in response to pressure from activists Republicans in Congress. The work is expected to take about six weeks and the words will be replaced by an unspecified set of city-sponsored murals.

The painting of those words was an act of government-sponsored defiance during President Donald Trump’s first term. The removal amounts to a public acknowledgement of just how vulnerable the District of Columbia is now that Trump is back in the White House and Republicans control both houses of Congress.

Bowser, a Democrat, ordered the painting and renamed the intersection Black Lives Matter Plaza in June 2020. It came after days of chaotic protests at that location over police brutality following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Bowser had clashed with Trump over her handling of the protests.

But now Bowser has little power to fend off encroachments on D.C.’s limited autonomy. Bowser said last week on X that, “The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a painful period, but now we can’t afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference. The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern.”

As construction equipment began tearing up the pavement some gathered to witness the moment.

“I needed to be here today. I can’t just let this go away,” said Starlette Thomas, a 45-year old Bowie, Maryland resident who attended the 2020 Floyd protests. At the plaza, Thomas discretely secured a chunk of pavement and said holding it made her both happy and sad.

“For me to walk away with a piece of that means that it’s not gone,” she said. “It’s more than brick and mortar.”

Also on the scene was Megan Bailiff, CEO of Equus Striping, the pavement marking company that originally painted the letters.

Bailiff called the dismantling of Black Lives Matter Plaza, “historically obscene” and said its presence was, “more significant at this very moment than it ever has been in this country.”

The far right celebrated the shift online, with conservative provocateur Charlie Kirk visiting the site to hail, “the end of this mass race hysteria in our country.”

In Trump’s second term, Bowser has worked to avoid conflict and downplay any points of contention. She traveled to Mar-a-Lago in Florida to meet with Trump after the election and has publicly emphasized their points of agreement.

Trump recently revived a frequent campaign talking point about wanting a federal “takeover” of the nation’s capital, describing Washington as being riddled with crime, graffiti and homeless encampments. Bowser has refused to comment on reports that the White House is preparing an executive order targeting Washington. She publicly said that the greatest threat to the so-called Home Rule autonomy was “some of the people in Congress.”

Congressional Republicans have repeatedly threatened to interfere in city affairs in large and small ways. A measure currently before Congress, named the BOWSER Act, seeks to completely revoke the Home Rule Act of 1973, which grants the capital city limited autonomy.

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Associated Press journalists Nathan Ellgren and Jacquelyn Martin contributed reporting.

Ashraf Khalil, The Associated Press









Seattle (AP) — Seattle fire officials said a late Sunday fire that damaged four Tesla Cybertrucks is under investigation.

The four Cybertrucks were parked in a Tesla lot in Seattle’s industrial district.

No one was injured, and the four trucks were the only property damaged. The first call came at 11:13 p.m. Sunday, said David Cuerpo, Seattle Fire spokesperson.

Tesla has been a target of protests and vandalism in the U.S. and elsewhere after CEO Elon Musk took a prominent role in President Donald Trump’s administration. People have protested Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which has been moving to slash the size of the federal government through large-scale layoffs, contract cancellations and other moves.

Police in Oregon last week said they are working with the FBI to investigate gunshots fired at a Tesla dealership. That shooting came a week after federal prosecutors in Denver charged a woman in connection with vandalism against a Tesla dealership in Colorado, including Molotov cocktails being thrown at vehicles and the words “Nazi cars” spray-painted on the building.

The Associated Press


The Senate is scheduled to vote Monday on whether to confirm Lori Chavez-DeRemer as U.S. labor secretary, a Cabinet position that would put her in charge of enforcing federally mandated worker rights and protections at a time when the White House is trying to eliminate thousands of government employees.

Chavez-DeRemer would oversee the Department of Labor, one of several executive departments named in lawsuits challenging the authority of billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency to order layoffs and access sensitive government data.

The Labor Department had nearly 16,000 full-time employees and a proposed budget of $13.9 billion for fiscal year 2025. Some of its vast responsibilities include reporting the U.S. unemployment rate, regulating workplace health and safety standards, investigating minimum wage, child labor and overtime pay disputes, and applying laws on union organizing and unlawful terminations.

Several prominent labor unions, including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, endorsed Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination. The former Republican congresswoman from Oregon is the daughter of a Teamster, and during her one term in the House earned a reputation as pro-labor.

During her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, several Republican senators grilled Chavez-DeRemer about her decision to co-sponsor legislation that would have made it easier for workers to unionize and penalized employers who stood in the way of organizing efforts.

She declined to explicitly state whether she still backed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, also known as the PRO Act.

Chavez-DeRemer explained she had signed on as a co-sponsor because she wanted a seat at the table to discuss important labor issues. Under further questioning, she walked back some of her support of the bill, saying that she supported state “right to work” laws, which allow employees to refuse to join a union in their workplace.

The PRO Act did not come up for a vote during her time in Congress. Chavez-DeRemer also co-sponsored legislation which sought to protect public-sector workers from having their Social Security benefits docked because of government pension benefits. That bill also stalled because it didn’t have enough Republican support.

Chavez-DeRemer walked a fine line during her confirmation hearing, attempting to appeal to both Democrats and Republicans. On the subject of whether the federal minimum wage was overdue for an increase, she said she recognized it hadn’t been raised from $7.25 an hour since 2009 but that she would not want to “shock the economy.”

Some Democratic senators and workers’ rights advocates have questioned how much independence Chavez-DeRemer would have as President Donald Trump’s labor secretary and where her allegiance would lie in an administration that has fired thousands of federal employees.

Cathy Bussewitz, The Associated Press




EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is facing calls to cancel a speaking appearance with conservative media personality Ben Shapiro at a fundraiser for Florida-based PragerU.

PragerU, a conservative content company, describes itself as an educational media platform devoted to furthering U.S. values.

Its content, which a number of U.S. states have approved for use in schools, has been criticized for downplaying the harms of slavery and climate change while distorting historic events.

Shapiro has referred to Canada as the 51st state of the U.S.

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi says it would be “despicable” for the United Conservative Party premier to speak at the March 27 fundraiser and is calling on her to cancel.

Smith’s office says the event gives her an opportunity to share Canada’s message with an influential U.S. audience as the trade war between the two countries continues.

Nenshi also says Smith’s trip to Florida, at a time when many Canadians are trying to keep their money in the economy of their home country, sends the wrong message to Albertans.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press


OTTAWA — The Conservative candidate for a northern Ontario riding has dropped out just weeks ahead of an expected election, citing issues with the local electoral district board.

Cassidy Villeneuve, who was nominated to run for the Tories in Nipissing-Timiskaming, says in a letter posted to social media that she’s been working tirelessly on the campaign for the past 18 months.

Villeneuve says the challenges in politics are magnified for women and that she received pushback from some members of the local Conservative association.

In her statement, she says that she fought for “greater transparency and accountability” and she still thinks the Conservatives are the best choice for Canada’s future.

Her bio on the Conservative website says Villeneuve was raised in North Bay and is the chief of staff to MP Raquel Dancho.

The riding has been a Liberal stronghold for years and is currently held by former House Speaker Anthony Rota, who is not running in the next election.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2025.

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press


NEW YORK (AP) — Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, will host a new weekly podcast series starting this month featuring a special guest pulled from the world of entertainment, sports, health and business.

“IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson” will address “everyday questions shaping our lives, relationships and the world around us,” according to a press release. IMO is slang for “in my opinion.”

Some of the guests slated to speak to the former first lady and Robinson, the executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, include the actors Issa Rae and Keke Palmer and psychologist Dr. Orna Guralnik.

Other guests include filmmakers Seth and Lauren Rogan; soccer star Abby Wambach; authors Jay Shetty, Glennon Doyle and Logan Ury; editor Elaine Welteroth; radio personality Angie Martinez; media mogul Tyler Perry; actor Tracee Ellis Ross; husband-and-wife athlete and actor Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union; and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky.

The first two episodes — the first is an introductory one and the second features Rae — will premiere on March 12. New episodes will be released weekly and will be available on all audio platforms and YouTube.

“With everything going on in the world, we’re all looking for answers and people to turn to,” Obama said in a statement. “There is no single way to deal with the challenges we may be facing — whether it’s family, faith, or our personal relationships — but taking the time to open up and talk about these issues can provide hope.”

Obama has had two other podcasts — “The Michelle Obama Podcast” in 2020 and another in 2023, “The Light We Carry.” Her husband, Barack Obama, offered a series of conversations about American life between him and Bruce Springsteen.

The new podcast is a production of Higher Ground, the media company founded in 2018 by the former president and first lady.

Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press


REGINA — The Saskatchewan government has signed a $16-million deal with Ottawa to expand school food programs.

The agreement will see the federal government invest the money over three years.

Ottawa says the initiative expands on Saskatchewan’s food program, allowing more students to benefit.

It says families in the province with two children are expected to save an average $800 a year on grocery bills.

School divisions and community organizations are to deliver the program and base it off need and capacity.

Ottawa says it wants to make sure children most affected by food insecurity have access to consistent and nutritious meals.

“When kids are hungry, they can’t focus — it’s that simple,” federal Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jenna Sudds said in a statement.

“Filling their bellies with nutritious food will set them up for success. It also helps parents save hundreds on groceries. It’s a game changer for everyone.”

Saskatchewan Education Minister Everett Hindley said basic nutrition helps students perform better.

“This funding will make a difference and allow us to continue to support the well-being of children and families who need it most across our growing province,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2025.

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press


The Trump administration has unveiled an overhauled cellphone app once used to let migrants apply for asylum, turning it into a system that allows people living illegally in the U.S. to say they want to leave the country voluntarily.

The renamed app, announced Monday and now called CBP Home, is part of the administration’s campaign to encourage “self-deportations, ” touted as an easy and cost-effective way to nudge along President Donald Trump’s push to deport millions of immigrants without legal status.

“The app provides illegal aliens in the United States with a straightforward way to declare their intent to voluntarily depart, offering them the chance to leave before facing harsher consequences,” Pete Flores, the acting commissioner for U.S Customs and Border Protection, said in a statement.

Moments after Trump took office, the earlier version of the app, CBP One, stopped allowing migrants to apply for asylum, and tens of thousands of border appointments were cancelled.

More than 900,000 people were allowed in the country on immigration parole under CBP One, generally for two years, starting in January 2023.

The Trump administration has repeatedly urged migrants in the country illegally to leave.

“The CBP Home app gives aliens the option to leave now and self deport, so they may still have the opportunity to return legally in the future and live the American dream,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on the social platform X. “If they don’t, we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return.”

Some people living in the U.S. illegally chose to leave even before Trump’s inauguration, though it’s unclear how many.

Associated Press, The Associated Press


WASHINGTON (AP) — A nonprofit that was awarded nearly $7 billion by the Biden administration to finance clean energy and climate-friendly projects has sued President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency, accusing it of improperly freezing a legally awarded grant.

Climate United Fund, a coalition of three nonprofit groups, demanded access to a Citibank account it received through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a program created in 2022 by the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act and more commonly known as the green bank. The freeze threatens its ability to issue loans and even pay employees, he group said.

“The combined actions of Citibank and EPA effectively nullify a congressionally mandated and funded program,” Climate United wrote in a Monday court filing.

Last April, then-Vice President Kamala Harris announced that EPA had selected eight groups, including Maryland-based Climate United, to receive $20 billion to finance tens of thousands of projects to fight climate change and promote environmental justice. The money was formally awarded in August.

While favored by congressional Democrats, the green bank drew immediate criticism from Republicans, who routinely denounced it as an unaccountable “slush fund.” Former EPA Administrator Michael Regan sharply disputed that claim.

The bank was quickly targeted by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who was confirmed to the role in late January. In a video posted on X, Zeldin said the EPA would revoke contracts for the still-emerging program. Zeldin cited a conservative journalist’s undercover video made late last year that showed a former EPA employee saying the agency was throwing “gold bars off the Titanic” – presumably a reference to spending before the start of Trump’s second term.

Zeldin has repeatedly used the term “gold bars” to accuse the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund’s recipients of misconduct, waste and possible fraud.

According to the lawsuit filed in federal court, Citibank cut off access to Climate United’s bank account on February 18 — an action the bank did not explain for weeks.

The cutoff took place as Zeldin made multiple public appearances accusing Climate United and other groups of misconduct, eventually announcing that the funds were frozen, according to the lawsuit. Climate United said the EPA has refused to meet with the group.

Several Democratic lawmakers slammed Zeldin’s attacks on the green bank.

“The Trump administration’s malicious and unfounded attacks on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund have resulted in a sham investigation and unsubstantiated funding freeze,” Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell said in a statement. The three Democrats pushed for creation of the green bank.

Citibank said it was reviewing the lawsuit.

“As we’ve said previously, Citi has been working with the federal government in its efforts to address government officials’ concerns regarding this federal grant program,” the bank said in a statement Monday. “Our role as financial agent does not involve any discretion over which organizations receive grant funds. Citi will of course comply with any judicial decision.”

The EPA declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

In its court filing, Climate United pointed to the resignation of a former prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Washington office after refusing demands from top Trump administration officials to freeze the group’s assets.

Zeldin raised questions in a letter to the agency’s watchdog about the EPA’s use of Citibank to hold the money, a structure that allowed the eight entities to be used as “pass throughs” for eventual grant recipients. The process undermined transparency, Zeldin alleged.

He also questioned the qualifications of some of the entities overseeing the grants and said some were affiliated with the Biden administration or Democratic politics, including Stacey Abrams, a former Democratic nominee for Georgia governor. Trump singled out Abrams over her ties to the green bank in his address to Congress last week.

In a letter to EPA officials on March 4, Climate United disputed Zeldin’s allegations. The group’s lengthy application material is publicly available and the EPA used a rigorous selection process, Climate United said, adding that its spending is transparent.

In addition to Climate United, the new fund has awarded money to other nonprofits, including the Coalition for Green Capital, Power Forward Communities, Opportunity Finance Network, Inclusiv and the Justice Climate Fund. Those organizations have partnered with a range of groups, including Rewiring America, Habitat for Humanity and the Community Preservation Corporation.

The EPA’s former inspector general had urged more oversight of the green-bank program.

“The rapid implementation of the program, combined with the relatively narrow window of availability for such a significant amount of funding, may lead the EPA to expend the funds without fully establishing the internal controls that mitigate the risk of fraud, waste, and abuse,” then-inspector general Sean O’Donnell told Congress in 2023.

Trump fired O’Donnell in January, along with more than a dozen other inspectors general.

Acting Inspector General Nicole Murley has said she is looking into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

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Phillis reported from St. Louis.

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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

Michael Phillis And Matthew Daly, The Associated Press