"I will disconnect the USA from electricity with a smile": Ontario threatens retaliatory duties

The United States imposed duties on imports from Canada: 25% on goods, 10% on energy. In response, the Canadian province of Ontario promises a 25% tariff on electricity that is supplied across the border to the United States.

"If these tariffs persist, if the Trump administration continues to impose any additional tariffs, we will immediately apply a 25 percent surcharge to the electricity we export," Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters.

The head of the province also said that he had written letters to the governors of three US states to inform them about the duty. We are talking about Minnesota, Michigan and New York, which are located on the border with Canada and receive part of the electricity from a neighboring country.

At the Mining Industry Conference in Toronto Doug Ford told reporters that in the event of a further escalation of the trade war, the province is ready to stop supplying electricity to the United States altogether.

"If they want to destroy Ontario, I will do everything, including disconnecting them from electricity with a smile on my face," said the head of Ontario. — They rely on our electricity, they need to feel the pain. They want to attack us, we're going to respond twice as hard."

New Nation reports that if duties are maintained, most of the northeast of the United States will have to look for new sources of energy supply. For example, the state of Vermont had previously entered into a partnership agreement with Hydro-Quebec so that the Canadian company would provide 25% of the state's annual electricity needs until 2038. Similarly, y New York has a contract to import electricity until 2030.

In the US, there is an opinion that part of the country will feel the effect of Canadian duties, but it will be temporary.

"Even with a prolonged shutdown, the United States has the opportunity to add more generating capacity in a relatively short period of time," Rj Johnston, research director at Columbia University's Center for Global Energy Policy, told CNN.

According to the Government of Canada, it is connected to the United States by more than 35 large power lines and 70 oil and gas pipelines.

The Premier of Ontario told reporters that American companies have been banned from participating in government contracts and the deal with the Starlink satellite network, which belongs to Elon Musk, has already been terminated. Doug Ford also announced his readiness to stop nickel exports to the United States: "This will lead to a halt in production, because 50 percent of the nickel they use comes from Ontario."